A Chance to Say Yes
by Over.Thinking.Daily.Life
Summary: Naruto always asked Sakura for a date. What if one time she said yes? But only because her time travelling future self said to, mind you! How does that affect the course of history? AU. TeamLeader!Sakura, Naru/Saku besties, Medic!Sasuke, Power of Friendship! and geopolitical intrigue! Mostly fluff, until the Wave arc.
1. Chapter 1- Training Arc Begins

1.

It was not well known that Sakura Haruno loved sci-fi.

Of course, it wasn't overly surprising to anyone who knew the girl. Sakura devoured books like oxygen. Both the librarians at the civilian and shinobi libraries knew her by sight and there were always at least three books stacked by her bed. Her tastes varied: romances to gossip about with her peers, history to ace her tests at the Academy, and a random assortment of others to impress any adult who thought to quiz her about an obscure subject.

But her true love, the books she reached for when her spirit was low, was sci fi .

If asked, she would deny it viciously. Sci-fi novels were for kids. Or losers like Naruto. But secretly her heart thrilled at the adventures of the brave and beautiful kunoichi who battled monsters from the other side of the moon, mastered long lost jutsu to save their villages, or travelled through space and time to save their loved ones.

Time travel fascinated her. Sakura loved the mental challenge of untangling time paradoxes or analyzing just when and how she would nudge the course of the universe to fix everything. At the tender age of 8 and a half, she was already full of regrets and spent long, rainy afternoons sprawled on her bed thinking how she would go back and reset her life if she ever could.

But Sakura was a practical ninja as well as an imaginative one; she set up a failsafe for her time travelling future self. First, she mentally chose a book at random from her shelf; this would be the drop point. If Sakura ever needed to contact herself, she would write a message on the last page and sign it with a flower.

Having decided this, Sakura assigned the location and the signature to two separate parts of her memory, just in case T&I would ever go looking. This compartmentalization was another skill she learned from her reading; as often as the brave and beautiful kunoichis risked everything to travel back in time, they were just as likely to be caught by brooding and handsome T&I specialists with dark pasts who may or may not be time travellers themselves.

She was just being practical after all.

The years passed and Sakura more or less forgot her plan. Maybe once or twice a year, she would flip through the Travelling book which survived her frequent culling of the library, but the pages remained blank. Still, the possibility that she would one day find a message brought a smile to her face even if her belief faded as the realities of the Academy caught up to her.

Graduation came, passed, and left Sakura unsure if it was the best or worse day of her life. Best, because she had not only graduated at the top of her class and but had also been placed on a Genin team with Sasuke, while Ino was stuck with her family's configuration. Worse, because her team also included Naruto who was annoying, loud, and constantly asking her out on dates.

The next day, Sakura revised her assessment: it was the worst. Her Sensei was insane!

Completely insane, Sakura decided as she slumped into her house after their first day of training and that stupid, confusing, pointless bell test. Should be locked up, she amended as she showered the sweat and dust from the day down the drain. Or at least not allowed near kids, she concluded as she slumped down on her bed.

To her right were a history text, a book of classical poetry, and one of her favorite time travel stories. There was no question of which one she was going to read first. It had been too long, too frustrating a day to spend learning something new. But her hand hesitated over the text. A memory clicked in her brain.

Checking to make sure the house was quiet; Sakura closed the drapes on her window and went over to her book shelf. By now, she no longer expected to find anything, but the possibility always thrilled her. It was her graduation day, after all. A pivotal moment in her life if there ever was one. Smiling to herself, she opened her book to the back page.

Her scream echoed through the house.

. . . . . . . . .

"Sakura!" Her mother appeared in her doorway- chakra flaring and kunai out-but Sakura sat on the floor looking stunned but unharmed. "What is wrong?"

"Ah- nothing." Sakura glanced at her quickly and stood up. Mebuki noticed that her hands were clasped behind her back and her legs a little shaky. "I was frustrated. By my team. And thought yelling would help."

"Did it?" Mebuki cast a quick genjutsu detection seal, but there didn't appear to be any foreign chakra in the room. Whatever was bothering her daughter didn't appear to be ninja in origin.

"Not really," Sakura confessed. "But thanks for checking?"

Mebuki relaxed slightly and offered her daughter a smile. Sakura was a genin now; legally an adult in their society and Mebuki had been younger than twelve when she first assumed such responsibility. It was time to trust that if Sakura needed help, she knew how to ask for it.

"Genin teams aren't forever," Mebuki consoled sympathetically, "Pass your Chunin test and try to get along with them for time being." A pained look crossed Sakura's face and Mebuki laughed. "Come down for dinner soon. I'm want to see you before I head to the boarder."

"Yep." Sakura agreed. When her mother shut the door, Sakura collapsed back onto the bed and looked at her book. On the back page a note was written that she had no memory of writing.

 _Go on a Date with Naruto_

It was signed with a flower.

II.

"Hey-hey- Sakura-chan. Will you go on a date with me today?"

"Ok."

It was difficult to tell who was more surprised by the response: the girl who agreed, the boy who asked, or the boy who was eavesdropping. No, that was a stupid question. Of course, Sasuke looked the least surprised. He usually looked the least of any emotion.

"Whaaaa! You mean it? Really? Really?" Naruto was staring at her like she had grown two heads and even Sasuke was focusing on her with more interest than he had ever shown. If the first agreement had been an accident, Sakura couldn't back down now. Not with Sasuke was actually looking at her. Instead, she scratched her cheek embarrassedly.

"Ah, yeah? I guess. I mean, we finished all our missions and I don't have anywhere to be tonight." Her mother had left for a mission of border patrol and her father wasn't back from tending the messenger hawks until tomorrow. Sakura, though used to coming home to an empty house, wasn't especially keen to head home.

Also the message. The damn message that had been playing in her mind all night and all day. Did she really send that to herself? And why? And why Naruto of all people?

"Wahooo!" Naruto cheered and punched the air. His smile looked like it was about to split his face in half. She had never seen him so excited- not even when he showed up after graduation sporting his new forehead protector. Sakura's smile grew a little strained. This is exactly what she didn't want from a date- the shouting, the cheering, the-

Well, actually. It was a little gratifying to make someone so excited with a simple yes. Especially after the numerous cold rebuffs from Sasuke.

"Really? You're not joking? You're serious?" Naruto looked like he couldn't believe his luck. "This is the best day ever! Believe it! Can we get ramen? I know the best ramen place in the whole city! You'll love it. It's the best!"

Naruto didn't shut up or stop jumping around once as they made their way from the training grounds to Ichiraku's Ramen stand. People actually peered out their windows as they passed. Sakura had to remind herself that she was an intelligent girl and probably a more intelligent woman, so this date idea from the future had to be smart. Right? And not a total end to all her social standing in the city?

Her embarrassment was slightly alleviated by Sasuke who slunk along behind them- affecting, in that way cats had, that he just happened to be travelling to get ramen and it was a complete coincidence that he sat down on Sakura's other side once they reached the stand. No one had invited him, of course, but Inner Sakura cheered at the idea that it was almost like she was having a date with Sasuke!

"Hey! Hey! Teuchi!" Naruto was bouncing on his seat as he wriggled his forehead protector at the man standing behind the counter. "I'm on a date!"

"Oh?" The man's eyes traveled from Sakura, who was completely red-faced, to Sasuke, who stared straight ahead as if it were pure coincidence that he had chosen the seat right next to his teammates. "Why don't you introduce them, Naruto?"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "This is Sakura Haruno- she's the top kunoichi of our year and the smartest and prettiest person I know. And that te-"

"That's Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura interrupted before Naruto could say something that might cause Sasuke to get up and leave. "He's also part of our team."

"Oh, you're teammates?" Teuchi smiled at them more broadly.

"Yeah! Team seven! We're the best team! Believe it!" Naruto struck his famous pose and Sakura wilted a little inside. How was it possible for him to have so much energy? What had her future self been thinking?

"And Teuchi- Sakura's is on me! But not te-"

"Naruto, it's ok." Sakura cut in again, "I have money." Her mother had left her dinner money on the counter when she woke up this morning. It would be more than enough to buy a bowl of ramen. She was unprepared for when Naruto turned to her, eyes tragic.

"Eh? But Sakura-chan- you said it was a date."

Sakura flushed and waved her hand quickly- more interested in preventing a flood of tears than in listening to what came out of her mouth. "You can pay next time."

"Next time?" The transformation was instantaneous. Suddenly, everything was alright in Naruto's world again- better in fact. His mood swings were giving Sakura emotional whiplash. "Alright! That's a plan. You're the best Sakura-chan!"

The rest of the meal went smoothly. Naruto suggested the miso-veggie ramen for her since he noticed that her lunches were mostly meatless at the academy. Sakura wasn't actually that fond of vegetables. It had been her attempt to win at the diet competition with Ino, but she wasn't about to admit that in front of Sasuke.

Actually, it was sort of astounding how much attention Naruto had paid to her. Inhaling his ramen apparently didn't hinder his conversation skills because he happily alternated between regaling Teuchi with stories of how awesome Sakura was from the academy, declaring that this was the best day ever, and shooting dirty looks at Sasuke, who ignored the entire one-sided conversation.

"Hey- hey Sakura!" Sakura glanced over from fishing the last bits of noodle from her bowl. "What's your dreams? You never answered when Kakashi-sensei asked that first day!"

"Uh…" Sakura's mind went blank. Of course, her dream was to one day marry Sasuke, but she couldn't exactly say that when the boy who asked her on a date and offered to pay for her meal was staring at her with such bright eyes. Even Inner Sakura knew better than that. She could feel Sasuke's glance over at her while she hesitated. "I guess become the best kunoichi ever and beat Ino-pig once and for all?"

Behind her Sasuke grunted in what might, if she really wished it, be approval. In front of her, Naruto cheered excitedly and gave her a thumbs up.

"You can totally do it, Sakura-chan!"

"Thanks! You can do it too!" she replied automatically.

"Eh! You really think so?"

Belatedly, Sakura remembered that his dream was to become Hokage. But she had committed herself too far. "Uh. Sure! You have lots of energy," she hazarded a guess, "And you're really cheerful. That has to be useful for diplomacy."

It was, essentially, a lie- but Naruto seemed to buy it wholeheartedly. He flushed and rubbed the back of his neck while laughing awkwardly.

"Well, I need to get going home." Sakura pulled out her purse and counted out the appropriate change before Naruto could protest. But he seemed to think that letting her pay for her ramen now meant another date in the future so he just waved enthusiastically as she headed out. Sasuke stayed in his seat and only raised a hand as she walked home.

Pity. She hoped he would walk her home.

A/N: Updated 12/17/17


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I do not own anything about Naruto. All the flower information was found online so I apologize if it, the Japanese, or the cannon Naruto universe is false.

III.

She had just stepped out of the shower when the telephone rang.

"Forehead is it true! You went on a date with Naruto!" Ah. Ino. Only one person called her forehead and kept such a close watch on the city gossip. Sakura winced as she shifted the phone over to her other ear. If Ino knew about the date, then everyone did. She sighed and hoped her future self knew what the hell she was doing.

"Sasuke was there too." She pointed out, "It was more of a team dinner."

"Everyone is saying that it was a date. Naruto was basically screaming about it." Ino countered quickly, "Have you lost your mind? Are you giving up on Sasuke? For dead last!"

"Don't call him that!" Sakura protested. It might be true but he was her team mate and had just spent the whole night praising her to the stars. Plus, Ino wasn't allowed to just say anything.

"But it's Sasuke." Ino drew out the first syllable into a disbelieving whine. "He's gorgeous."

"He's also kind of rude." The blaspheme was out of her mouth before she could believe what she said. Ino made a sort of strangled gasp on the other end of the line. "Well, it's true. He came along to dinner, uninvited. Didn't say a thing the entire time."

"He's too cool-"

"- to talk?" Sakura countered. She felt a bit queasy badmouthing her years long crush, but she wasn't about to let Ino win this conversation. Plus, it was nice to be the more mature sounding one for once. "Or for basic human interaction."

Ino huffed on the other end of the line. "Whatever. I guess that means more for me, since I apparently won-"

"Like hell you won, Ino-pig!" Sakura's fist slammed out into the wall before she could stop herself- Inner Sakura cheering inside. "I'll never lose to you!"

"Big words for a big forehead," Ino paused at the sound of a distant mumble. "Ugh. Dad needs to use the phone. And you're invited to come to dinner tomorrow since your dad has to stay another few days at the hatchery."

"Fine." The Haruno's and Yamanaka's had been friends since before Ino and Sakura had been born. That friendship had continued even after their daughters had ended theirs. When Sakura's parents were away on missions, they often asked the Yamanaka's to check in on her. Sakura had been expecting a call, but was surprised that Ino had made it. She probably wouldn't have, if she didn't need to confirm the gossip.

"Fine. See you tomorrow, forehead."

"Whatever, Ino-pig."

The phone clicked as Ino hung up and Sakura went to bed in a tumble of emotions. It hadn't been a bad night all in all.

IV.

"Hey! Sakura! Want to go on another date tonight!"

Today, Naruto hadn't even waited for them to finish their mission in the afternoon. In fact, Sakura realized with a blink, he wasn't late at all to their meeting place on the bridge. Usually, she had to yell at him about the importance of punctuality. An ironic concern considering their sensei

"Not tonight," Naruto drooped. "Tomorrow?" Naruto whooped. "But I get to choose the place!"

"Sure- sure-" He agreed happily, "Where ever you want as long as they have ramen!"

This morning they waited three hours for Kakashi-sensei to show up. Naruto had apparently decided that one date meant they were best friends. Instead of falling around and complaining of their sensei's lateness, he jumped around and asked her lots of questions. What was her favorite food? (Anmitsu) Favorite color? (Either red or pink) If she could have any summons what would she want? (Something cute!) What would she do if she was hokage?(make sure chunnin with families spent more time at home) Did she notice any of his pranks at the academy? (yes) Did she like any of his pranks (she liked that they weren't directed at her). And so on.

It wasn't the worst conversation she ever had. He was obviously interested and his enthusiasm was contagious. After the first hour of trying to include Sasuke into their conversation and receiving only grunts in return- favorite color (hn), favorite food (hm)- she gave up and just chatted with Naruto who seemed ecstatic to be asked anything at all- even if she was just being polite.

In addition to being apparently the most interesting person in the world, Naruto also thought she was the smartest.

"Hey-hey, Sakura-chan. Why do we have to do such boring missions? I want to do something cool!"

They were walking back from yet another adventure of finding the Daiyamo's cat with Nartuo sporting a dozen scratches from where he tackled it. Sakura was about to snap that that was a question he should ask Kakashi, but, of course, their sensei had wandered off somewhere to get lost in the strings of fate. They would find him leaning against the mission office like he had spent all afternoon with them instead of lazing around with his nose in his book.

"Because we're cheap labor that they're happy to exploit." Somewhere around the 100th question she had given up trying to sound cool or knowledgeable to impress Sasuke. Naruto seemed more interested that she was answering at all than if she was being sweet or feminine. As the day grew hotter and they had a harder time tracking down the damn cat, she began to bitch just like if she was with Ino. It was… nice?

"So not cool!" Naruto agreed.

"Idiots." They both froze and stared at the first non-necessary comment Sasuke had made all day- too surprised to be upset. He glanced at them and then at the sky as if amazed he was surrounded by such idiots. "Finding the cat is practice for search and rescue missions."

"Eh- Sakura is that true?"

"I guess?" Sakura thought about it for a moment, "Actually, that makes sense. Tracking an animal is a bit harder than tracking a person and we know we aren't going to run into missing-nin around here, so it's really safe. Ugh. Why didn't I think of that." She muttered to herself.

"Hey-hey Sakura-chan it's ok. Even that idiot has to be useful sometimes!" Naruto gave her a cheerful thumbs up and she couldn't help but grin at him. Sasuke radiated smug superiority.

"I swear that cat has a jutsu on it to make it run away all the time," Ino laughed. "We had to track him down last week!"

"It does escape with stupid frequency. You would think the Daiyomo's wife would just put a leash on it!" Sakura agreed. They were laying on Ino's bed together for the first time in three years.

It had been nice coming to the Yamanaka's for dinner, like how she used to when she was younger. Maybe it was their conversation yesterday or that they were both graduated and on different teams, but there was a silent understanding that their longstanding rivalry was at a truce. Or a cross roads, Sakura reflected. Either way, it was nice to hang out with Ino again.

"I know! How do you guys capture it? We have it down to a science," Ino launched into her story without giving Sakura a chance to answer. "Choji figured out that it loves salted salmon, so we set up a trap and wait." Sakura thought that was an appropriate tactic for the team with the laziest ninjas.

"How do you know where to set up the trap?"

"It always goes to the same few places, haven't you noticed?" She hadn't. "So I use my jutsu to take over a random bird and fly around until I find it. Sometimes I have to divebomb it to move it along. Then, once it finds the salmon, Shikamaru uses his jutsu to bind it. And done." Ino, who had been acting out the capture, flopped back onto the bed and grinned at Sakura. "How do you guys do it?"

"Well," Sakura drew herself up proudly, "First, Naruto makes dozens of clones and they run all around looking for some sign of the beast. Then when he finds it he usually tries to grab it, the idiot, so he poofs. When we get to his last known position, Sasuke is able to track where it goes and then we find it pretty fast."

"What do you do?" Ino asked curiously.

"I…" Sakura hesitated, unsure of how to answer. She helped, obviously. She searched for clues along with the Naruto clones but she expected one of them to find it. And she looked for tracks, but Sasuke was so much better at that than her. "I carry it back? It likes me." She added defensively. "And scratches up Naruto if he gets too close."

Ino raised her eyebrows but didn't voice the question of usefulness which was clearly on her mind. Instead, she changed the subject. "Can you believe I almost miss the academy?" She asked stretching her arms over her head, "Training in the morning, missions in the afternoon, and then Mom still expects me to help out in the flower shop at night. And there was this huge request for all these yellow poppies, which are hard to find, at the opening of a new business."

"Why did you use yellow?" Sakura asked absently, still thinking about her role in the capture of the stupid cat.

"For the success, obviously."

"That would be white."

Ino rolled over. Her face a mask of horror. "No it's not."

"Yeah it is."

"White is for rejoicing. Yellow is for success."

"Other way around." Sakura frowned at her once, maybe, currently friend.

"Is not!"

"Is too!" Sakura protested. "What are forget-me-nots?"

"Eternal love. What do the three points of an Ikebana arrangement represent?"

"Heaven, earth, and man. Or sun, moon, and stars," Sakura countered smugly. Ino narrowed her eyes in good humored challenge. "My turn: what was the oldest school of flower arranging?"

"Easy- Ikenobo. Describe the Nagiere style-"

The continued in this vein for another half hour with Ino shouting a final question out the door as Sakura headed down the darkened street. On one hand, Sakura was pleased to have remembered as much about flowers as she did from her Kunoichi classes. On the other, Ino-pig still new more.

Obviously, because her mother owned a flower shop and she grew up working in it. But still. It pissed her off!

A/N: Rivalry is a big theme in the Naruto stories, but usually the rivals are two boys. I've always wondered how Sakura and Ino would turn out if their friendly rivalry was encouraged more. So, that is apparently a theme of this story now. Who would you want to be your rival out of the Naruto universe?

As always, seeing hits, favs, and alerts, makes me happy- you guys are a pretty great community. But if you want to really inspire me or have me look at a particular aspect or relationship, send me a review!


	3. Chapter 3

V.

"Hey! Sakura! Have you decided where to go for our date tonight?" Naruto ran up and flopped down beside her. "Eh? What are you reading?"

Sakura looked up from her book and blinked at Naruto tiredly. She had stayed up late last night winning arguments against Ino in her head. Yes, she knew everything about flowers. No, she wasn't useless to her team. Yes, they needed her. It didn't matter how, they did, didn't they. Well, what does it matter that she doesn't know what she contributes? Or that their missions could be finished in the same time if she was there or not?

Mental Ino was a lot more exhausting than real Ino.

"Oh. It's a book on flowers." Sakura hadn't found any answers to her worries this morning, but as she was heading out of the house she saw her old flower text book in her bookshelf. She might not know how to be of more use to her team, but she could at least find some questions that might stump Ino next time she saw her.

"Eh. That's cool." Naruto said in a voice that indicated it very much wasn't. "Why are you reading it?"

"Because…" I am a useless kunoichi whose only strength is my intelligence and I'm reassuring myself about my insecurities by overdeveloping that strength, seemed like a bit too heavy an answer to Naruto's innocent question. "Because I am going to be the best kunoichi!" She sort of lied, remembering their last conversation.

"Awesome!" Naruto beamed at her, "How are flowers going to help?"

Sakura looked at him askance, then remembered that the boys didn't attend the kunoichi classes. "Flowers are really useful, Naruto."

"Eh? Really? How so?" Honestly. Sakura was pretty sure that at least something on flowers were covered in the boy's classes- though Naruto was looking at her with a genuinely blank expression.

"Didn't you pay attention in class? You can use them to know what country you are in, for instance, if you get lost. Or what is food. Lots of flowers are used in poisons and you can send messages with them!" The last part was her favorite. She daydreamed a lot about Sasuke walking up to her with a bouquet of flowers and giving her a small smile when she correctly read the message. It was the most romantic gesture.

"Poisons!"

Of course, Naruto focused on that. Sakura rolled her eyes but spent most of the morning answering his nearly endless questions about flowers, their arrangement, their poison, the antidotes. Sakura wasn't sure if Naruto had honestly never been taught or if he had never paid attention in class. Either way, he was asking good questions now and under the cheerful interrogation, Sakura's fears faded.

"That was weird." Sakura muttered to herself as they were politely but firmly escorted out of the sweets shop and heard the door lock behind them. Sasuke grunted in what could possibly be agreement, possibly be allergies. "Does that happen to you a lot?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and laughed awkwardly, "Sometimes?"

Sakura had wanted to try this place for ages except that a sweet shop wasn't the place you went by yourself while on a diet. But it was the perfect place to bring an overly excited team mate who would be buying you the sweets. Or, maybe not, Sakura was reconsidering the application of sugar to Naruto. But when they walked in, the older woman behind the counter looked like she had swallowed a lemon. Her mouth snapped shut as she saw Sasuke, once again uninvited, trail in after them. They were allowed to buy one thing and as soon as the money exchanged hands were told the store was closing early. Sasuke had given them a dark look and stalked away.

"Ramen?" Naruto suggested after he left.

"Sure?" It wasn't like the ramen was bad and at least the owner didn't glare at them as they walked down the street. "Why did she look at you like that?"

"I play a lot of pranks in this section of town," Naruto admitted, "The shop owners don't really… appreciate it. But you did, right Sakura-chan! Like when I painted the Hokage's faces!"

"I wouldn't say appreciate it." Sakura admitted.

"Ah come on, Sakura chan!" Naruto protested, "That prank took a lot of effort!"

After that comment, Sakura knew, logically, that she could turn and walk away down the street after Sasuke. She knew that she didn't have to stay and listen while Naruto explained step by step the preparation, execution, and results of his top pranks in Konoha. She knew that the next day Naruto would show up beaming and asking for another date as if she hadn't ditched him.

She knew that, but she stayed anyways.

It wasn't like she had anyone else to talk to at home. Yeah, that was it. It certainly wasn't because after three days of actually talking to Naruto rather than hitting him or ignoring him, he proved to be sort of, almost, ok. It was for the sake of the team- really.

Yeah, those were good reasons.

"Wait-" She said after a lull in the description of how he had switched all the names of the bathrooms in the school, "Why did you do that?"

"Because it would be really funny, Sakura-chan! You should have seen Kiba's face!"

"No-" She waved her chopsticks at him, "Why do you prank at all?

There was a silence that stretched out as Naruto thought about it. Eventually, "I don't know. It's fun?"

"Getting chased by ANBU, yelled at by teachers, and glared at by shop owners is fun?"

"Well, not that part Sakura-chan," He admitted. "But the rest of it!"

Sakura didn't push the question further that night. For the rest of the evening, they chatted about simple things: the D-rank missions they had been running (so boring), where Kakashi could possibly be hiding (in a porn store, still asleep, maybe he really did get lost), and how long it should take for them to run an awesome mission (yesterday for Naruto, probably another few months for Sakura).

VI.

That night Sakura received a message that her father would be home tomorrow afternoon, no exceptions, and that her mother had reached the border patrol headquarters. She wouldn't hear from her mother for another two weeks at the least, but she sighed in relief to know her mother made it there safely.

Then, she called Ino.

"Forehead, what's up?" It had been years since Sakura had picked up the phone to call Ino. She had fretted about it, honestly, wondering if dinner and bickering was enough to heal a three year long break in their relationship. It seemed, bizarrely, that it did. Sakura would have thought twice about taking a call from Ino if she had been in her place.

"Hey Ino-pig." Sakura glanced down at the list of questions she had drawn up based on her conversation with Naruto that morning. Maybe she should ask how Ino's day had been… Nah. "What school did Sofu Teshigahara found?"

"Oooh!" Ino's voice lit up in amusement, "You want a rematch. Guess you like the taste of defeat! You're on forehead!"

Sakura could almost hear Ino's knuckles cracking and she grinned.

They only managed 15 minutes of rapid fire question and answer, where Sakura, with the aid of her questions and prepped by Naruto's vast ignorance, managed to stump Ino five times, when Ino's dad yelled at her to get off the phone. Apparently, the line needed to be kept open in case someone called him in to work and the batteries didn't last forever.

"Ugh. Fine." Sakura could imagine Ino rolling her eyes, "Look. You had an unfair advantage, because I didn't know you were going to ask all this."

"A ninja is always prepared for an ambush." Sakura recited with mock superiority. And maybe a little true superiority.

"Whatever, forehead. Look, in two days, Team 10 is grabbing dinner at the barbeque place on the corner of A street. Come by and eat with us and we'll settle this once in for all."

"I don't know." Sakura had eaten out the past two nights and was worried about her budget.

"Oh come on!" Ino pleaded. "It's Shikamaru and Choji and I'm tired of being the only girl and they never want to discuss anything fun!"

"Ok," Sakura relented. She could never resist Ino's pleading, which undoubtedly lead to the friction in their friendship. But, it had been a few weeks since she had seen any of her classmates outside of Team 7 and Ino. She missed being in class with everyone.

"Awesome! See you then! Prepare to go down, forehead!"

"You wish, Ino-pig!"

A/N: I promise that I like Kakashi-sensei as a character, but for whatever reason, I can't figure out how to write him for this story. So I am just going to ignore him. Sorry.

Hope you are enjoying the fic! Let me know any thoughts you have!


	4. Chapter 4

VII.

The next morning Naruto showed up with flowers.

"Hey-hey Sakura-chan!" He grinned hugely at her. "Look what I found!"

Found might be a of an understatement, because she was pretty sure that those orange and pink irises didn't grow anywhere but the Yamanaka back yard and that the purple orchids were native to the Forest of Death and-

"Eh! Naruto! Did you touch those?" Sakura was on her feet in an instant- the books she had brought to study falling to the ground. The bouquet of flowers fell to the ground as she grabbed Naruto's palms, turning them over to see the small red welts already rising.

"You idiot!" She smacked him on the head, "What were you thinking? Konoha Day Lilies are poisonous on contact!"

"Whaaaat!" Naruto seemed genuinely shocked, "but they were in your book of flowers!"

"In the section about poisons!" The red welts were getting bigger and Sakura had no idea how Naruto had managed to make it all the way here without noticing the pain. Luckily, the Konoha day lily was non-lethal. The simple antidote pill in the Genin Standard Issue Med Pack would be fine to tame the reaction. Sakura dug into her day pack, only to realize-

"Oh crap!" She stared down at the empty pack and a very clear vision filled her mind: her med pack, laying on her bed, ready to be repacked after she fit her books on flowers, then looking at the clock and realizing she would be late.

"Am I going to die!" Naruto was jumping up and down and waving his arms around as though he could shake off the rash.

"Naruto- do you have your med pack!"

"What's a med pack!"

"What do you mean what's a med pack!"

"Here." A med pack was shoved in her arms and Sakura hastily took out the packet of basic antidote pills. Snapping them into her palm she pulled Naruto into a head lock and shoved the pills into his mouth.

"Swallow." She commanded and he did. Sakura let out a breath of relief.

"Am I going to die?"

"No. Idiot." She smacked him on the head again and let go. "Unless you ate some of the root." She looked at him, because there were some things she expected of the normal Konoha citizen that didn't extend to Naruto. But he shook his head and she relaxed further.

"The root," She continued grabbing a roll of bandages from the med box, "is lethal if ingested within four hours, even more so if it is concocted into a tincture with the vine of the Fireleaf. But the antidote is pretty common, so it's not a favored assassination poison. Take your jacket off."

"So I'm not going to die?" Naruto repeated, shrugging off his bright orange jacket. Underneath he had a much more ninja appropriate black shirt. "Good, that would have been embarrassing. The next Hokage can't die because of- Hey-" He protested as she grabbed his arm and began to wrap the bandage around his forearm. They had all learned basic first aid at the Academy, but Sakura could never remember if you went clockwise around the arm or counter clockwise.

"No. The Konoha Day Lily only caused welts, irritation, and pain with dermal contact." Sakura recited, "But you can rub the oils onto other people or parts of yourself which is one of the reasons I'm-" She was cut off as Sasuke rudely snatched the roll of bandages from her and unrolled all her work. Sakura flushed.

"Well, why Sasuke is bandaging your hands." She concluded lamely. Admittedly it wasn't her best bandaging job- but Sasuke went much quicker and neater. He even knew how to bandage the palm and fingers so Naruto had full range of motion.

"What's the other reason?" Naruto examined his bandaged hands with fascination.

"The pain." Sakura said bluntly. "Didn't you notice?"

Naruto laughed weakly and then cried out as Sasuke released the seals on the bandages. "Oh gross! Why did they get all wet!"

"That's the medication," Sakura snapped, "To prevent infection and scarring."

"Huh." Naruto considered his fingers again, "I've never scared before."

"Really? Never-"

"You should have a medical pack." Sasuke interrupted the conversation. Sakura was surprised to see that he was looking at both of them and hadn't retreated to the far end of the bridge like he normally did during their conversations. When his dark eyes fixed on her, it was her turn to laugh awkwardly.

"I-I'll remember next time." Sasuke dismissed her without another glance.

"Hey-hey- Sakura- where do you get one?"

"They handed them out at the Academy," Sasuke answered for her, picking his own up. "You refill them at any Shinobi clinic."

"Oh. And if, uh, I never got one?" Sakura took this to mean he had lost his somewhere and rolled her eyes. Sasuke clearly agreed with her because he turned from them with a muttered "tch" and retreated to sulk in silence.

He tolerated their presence for the rest of the day, at least that was how Sakura interpreted his curt answers to direct questions, refusal to join in her and Naruto's rambling conversations, and tendency to stand at least three feet further away than social custom dictated. While she lectured Naruto on the uses of the flowers he had picked and their dangers, Sasuke perched on the edge of the river and stared a thousand miles away. But he did check on Naruto's bandages once that afternoon after they were hired to clear a field for a lazy famer (strength training, she told Naruto, and he stopped complaining as much).

They finished later than she wanted, mostly because Naruto wasn't allowed to do too much work with his hands in bandages, and she had her backpack on and was heading towards the village before Naruto could ask his now traditional question:

"Hey- Sakura-chan want to go on a date?"

"Not tonight, Naruto." His face fell and she continued, "My dad just returned from his latest assignment and I want to spend some time with him."

"Oh." She was expecting more of a scene, honestly. But Naruto just smiled at her, "That sounds nice. Have fun!"

"Oh- ok. Have a good night? Careful with your hands!" She called back over her shoulder as she began to speed back to the village.


	5. Chapter 5

VIII.

The next day Naruto brought another bouquet of flowers, noticeably missing the Konoha Day Lilies, and Sasuke brought med kits. Both flowers and kit were shoved into her arms with differing levels of enthusiasm and Sakura went from feeling empty handed to overburdened.

Damn it, Sasuke- Inner Sakura thought uncharitably- I brought my med kit with me today! Don't treat me on the same level as that idiot!

Said idiot was squatting on the ground examining the contents with excitement usually reserved for birthdays. The last time she had seen him that happy was when she had agreed to the first date.

"Wow! Hey- hey- Sakura Chan- look! It's the bandages teme used on my arms. And the pills you gave me!" He waved a yellow packet and the bandages in the air excitedly.

"Those are pain relievers," She corrected, shifting the flowers and med pack to her other arm, "The antidote pills are in the packet marked in green. How are your arms today?"

"Totally good!" Naruto pushed his jacket sleeves up and waved his unblemished arms in the air. Huh, Sakura thought, they must have caught the rash early on enough. Usually, it left marks for at least three days. "So- green is the poison-"

"Antidote."

"Yeah. Antidote for plants, which is why it's green. Yellow is for.." He tapped his chin, "Like when you get bruises and they turn yellow and you know they're almost not painful, so yellow is for pain."

"Uh… sure?" That seemed an overly complicated way to remember the basic medical catagories, but if it worked for Naruto. After the lecture yesterday, she realized that Naruto had a unique way of looking at and remembering the world. You had to be really patient and let him compartmentalize the information at his own pace.

"And the blue?"

"For chakra exhaustion," They both looked over to where Sasuke was loitering a few feet away. Sakura wasn't positive, but she thought he might be watching them out of the corner of his eye as opposed to ignoring them completely. Suddenly, she flushed.

"Ah- thank you very much for the med kits, Sasuke!" she smiled. Naruto was still rooting around in the kit when she reached out and smacked him on the head. He yelped and clutched his crown. "Say thank you," Naruto, she hissed.

"Ugh. Thanks." He rolled his eyes and pouted, but quickly went back to unpacking the kit. "Ok. Blue for chakra, because in the diagrams its always blue looking. Yellow for pain relief. Green for antidote. Red for-" He scrunched up his face trying to read.

"Infection." Sakura sat down and laid the flowers down carefully, "Naruto have you really never seen a med kit before."

"I've seen one-" He protested, "Just… not the inside of one?"

"But they gave them out after the first aid test." She protested, "You know, when you went in, showed the instructor that you knew how to bandage an arm, received your first med kit?"

He laughed and rubbed the back of his head. Sakura was learning that was his tell for embarrassment, "Must have failed that one, then!"

"You couldn't have failed it." Sasuke spoke up. He looked irritated, but refused to say anything else, even when they both waited.

"Huh- well- hey Sakura! These are the bandages, Teme used on me, right? Right?"

"Nope, those are regular bandages." She leaned forward and plucked a different roll, covered in delicate seal work. "These are the one's he used. The ones you are holding are good for anything that is bleeding, but these ones are good for burns, bites, anything with inflammation and irritation."

"Oh so if…"

They spent the rest of the morning going through the med kit. Sakura explained what each of the items were and how to use them, quizzing Naruto until he knew every item perfectly. It was one thing not to be aware what different flowers did, but not knowing what was in his med kit could be the difference between life and death on the battle field!

Sasuke was actually talkative. By which she meant he made no less than five separate, unprompted comments about the medical supplies and stood only two feet away as opposed to his normal four. He knew a lot of first aid and even some more advanced medical practices.

When Kakashi showed up around noon, Sakura was almost confident enough to let Naruto give her first aid on the battle field, though she would, of course, prefer Sasuke's help. Their sensei raised his visible eyebrow at the scattering of flowers and first aid equipment, but didn't comment further.

Their mission that afternoon was a shopping list from one of the high end hotels in Konoha. They could have split up and each tackled a third of the list, but Sakura remembered the way the sweets store owner looked at Naruto. They wouldn't go faster if Naruto wasn't allowed to buy the things on his list and it seemed unfair to leave Naruto with the day off or force Sasuke to buy things on his own. So Sakura suggested they all shop together.

"Hey- hey Sakura, what's the point of this mission?" They were standing outside of a green grocers that Naruto seemed pretty reluctant to enter. So Sakura had stayed outside under the guise of quizzing him on more first aid.

"Well," She thought about it. Her first instinct was to complain that the hotel was just too lazy to send their own wokers, but Sasuke's comment from a few days ago made her think. "It could be used for espionage? Like if you know what sort of things a hotel needs, you could sneak poison into their favorite suppliers soap brand-"

"Or send messages in their flower arrangements! Right? Right?"

"That's right!" They had spent a long time at the florist's as Naruto wanted to know the meaning of every flower and arrangement they saw. She finally had to explain to him that civilians weren't actually sending coded messages every time they went to pick up a bouquet. It was more of a shinobi thing.

"You're really smart, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned at her, "You know everything. And you're a better teacher than any of them at the Academy. Except Iruka-sensei maybe. But still! I've learned so much more this past week than I ever did at school!"

"Are you sure it not just because you're paying attention?" She teased, "If you had focused during class, I wouldn't need to go over this all with you."

He laughed and stretched his arms over his head, "Yeah. It's more fun with just you Sakura-chan. You don't get as angry when I'm being dumb. Hey! Do you want to go on a date tonight!"

"Not tonight- I'm meeting Ino and her team for dinner."

"What!" Naruto's face fell comically, "But you were busy last night too! I thought we would go on a date tonight!"

"Tomorrow," She promised. Wow, back at the Academy her social calendar was never this full. Now she had people actually competing for her time. It was… nice.

"Ok," Naruto sounded barely appeased, but he brightened when Sasuke came out with a basket of fresh fruit. "Hey! Teme- Sakura's busy tonight do you want to-"

"No." Sasuke turned and headed down the street. Naruto picked up the other bags- he had been sending shadow clones back to the hotel with their purchases all afternoon- and hurried after him. Sakura soon left too. Huh, had that been a flare of jealousy when Naruto invited Sasuke to do something without her? She was glad Sasuke refused.

Her thoughts were broken by an apple flying towards her face. She caught it without thinking- Academy instincts kicking in. Glancing up in surprise, she saw Naruto was holding an apple with an equally surprised look on his face.

"Lunch." Sasuke grunted, and turned on his heel to march back to the hotel.

When Sakura arrived at the restaurant, Ino was already seated, bent over something on her lap. Well, she was running a little late. She had wanted to run home and drop off her flowers from Naruto in a vase and her med kit from Sasuke in her supply drawer. The apple, also from Sasuke, was already eaten.

"Hey Ino, Shikamaru, Choji- uh, Ino's sensei!" Sakura waved. Ino looked up quickly and just as quickly slammed a book shut under the table. Shikamaru glanced from the book to Sakura and raised his eyebrows in understanding. Then no doubt decided another girl was troublesome and shifted his attention back outside after a grunt of greeting.

"Sakura!" Ino bounced up and gave her a hug. "This is Asuma Saurutobi. Sensei of Team 10!"

Sakura bowed low before him, "It is a pleasure to meet you Saurutobi-sensei." He seemed amused by her presence, glancing back and forth between her and Ino. "How long have you two been friends?"

Sakura hesitated as she took her seat across from Ino and next to Choji. How to answer that question? Were they friends now?

Luckily, Ino was quick to answer. "Oh, for years. Our parents knew each other growing up. She's like a sister to me. And what flower means sisterhood, Sakura-chan?" Ino's sweet smile quickly fell from her face as Sakura answered immediately.

"Twin pansies of the valley. Do you know how to differential diagnose poisoning from the Konoha Day Lily from the Forest Spider Orchid?"

"No," Ino narrowed her eyes playfully as Sakura held up one finger. Point for her. "Do you know-"

"Ah-" Asuma cut in easily, "Answer the question for us, Sakura."

"Oh, well," She blinked. For a moment she had almost forgotten that the others were at the table. Shikamaru was giving them a long, annoyed look while Choji was complacently laying out meat on the grill. "Both produce rashes with dermal contact but the Lily has small, red welts while the Orchid has lines of irritation that extend along the chakra lines." Asuma nodded in agreement and gestured for Ino to ask her question.

Dinner continued in that vein. Choji and Shikamaru were content to sit and watch the battle of information, while Asuma acted as referee. He insisted that each question asked had to be answered in full and would often cut in to ask follow up questions that were surprisingly difficult to answer. Did Sakura know what clan had first developed Midnight Roses and what jutsu they were said to aid? (No.) Could Ino explain how the annual peach blossom festival in the fire country capital effected trade relations with the water nation (ummm… badly?) Who knew what the fire daiymo's favorite concubine's favorite flower (wait, I thought he was married!)

By the end of the dinner, Sakura's belly was full and her head was empty. She felt like she had sat for her Academy finals all over again. From the tension in Ino's brow, she felt the same way too. Even the boys looked exhausted from listening. Only Asuma was in good spirits.

"This was fun." He grinned as they all shot him dirty looks. "Shikamaru, who won?"

Shikamaru muttered something suspiciously like "troublesome" under his breath, but closed his eyes to think. "For the basic questions, Ino got 8 more right than Sakura, but Sakura was able to give more articulate answers for the broader ranging ones."

"And Choji, when I asked about the ethics of flower cultivation in the Rock country mountains, who gave a more persuasive argument?"

The larger boy frowned as he tried to remember, "Sakura discussed the economics?" He asked uncertainly and seemed more emboldened when Asuma nodded, "Which made a good point about needing money to put food on the table, but Ino seemed more right about the use of child labor in the dangerous mountains."

Ino sent Sakura a triumphant look.

"Are you saying that just because Ino is your team mate?" Asuma asked mildly.

The glare Ino sent him seemed to indicate that if that hadn't been his reason, it ought to be it now. Choji hesitated again and then straightened.

"No, it really does seem wrong to send children out where they might get hurt."

"In the first Shinobi war, more than 40% of the casualties were children younger than you." Asuma remarked, "Lets discuss that at our next dinner in three days." When he saw his team was hesitating, he grinned. "My treat. Sakura, come by if you can."

Sakura nodded. The dinner was exhausting, but this was also the most thinking she had had to do since the Academy. It was nice to be challenged.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Team 7 fluff! Sasuke's a little out of character, hopefully I'll get a chance to explore that in story later.

IX.

All she was supposed to pick up was juice for her dad. Instead, she ended up staggering back to her house, loaded down with groceries, frozen goods, and sweets.

It had started out simply enough. As she was walking past the home good's section, she stopped to see the promotion on bento boxes. They were cheap, plastic ones, but they were brightly colored and cutely shaped. Sakura passed over the pink one with cherry blossoms (name and hair aside, she wasn't wild about the sakura motifs), found a cute red one with maple leaves and then stopped.

Because there was a bright orange one the same shade as Naruto's ridiculous jumpsuit. He'd get suck a kick out of it! She paused and then realized giving something to Naruto without giving something to Sasuke would be sort of rude. And the sale was three for the price of two…. After all, Naruto had gotten hives collecting flowers for her and Sasuke had brought her a med kit (even if she already had one!). It would only be polite to give her team mate a little present in return.

She ended up buying the red one for her, the orange one for Naruto, and a dark blue one for Sasuke. And then ended up buying rice, seaweed, frozen dumplings, frozen soy beans, frozen meat balls (hey- she never said she was a good cook, and cooking everything from scratch took too long!)

Her father laughed when he saw her stagger through the doorway, burdened with the purchases of the last of her pocket change. Then he laughed louder when she explained why she needed three bags of rice and two bags of dumplings- and no, she wasn't stopping her diet, she was just being nice, and Dad! Oh my gosh, she didn't have a crush.

"Sakura! You're late- are you ok?" Naruto waved at her as Sakura ran the rest of the way towards their meeting place. It was funny, she reflected as she caught her breath, that they still met at the same place at the same time every day, even if Kakashi never required it and never arrived on time.

"Yeah- fine-" Just out of breath from running all the way from her house. Was she getting out of shape? No, it was because in addition to her pack, her med kit, her book on the first Shinobi war, she was carrying three bento's stuffed with food. "Just running late."

"You're never late," Naruto said with concern. "Are you sick? Huh? Should you be in bed? Sasuke- get over here. Is she sick? Is she hurt? Do you feel hot Sakura chan?"

Naruto's questions, she was used to. Sasuke moving over to stare at her inquiringly (or suspiciously, she couldn't tell), she was not.

"I'm fine- I'm fine- I just didn't realize how long it took to cook rice." She thought she had set the rice cooker for thirty minutes instead of forty five. She pulled the two bentos out of her bag with a flourish. "I made these for you. Please enjoy them!"

Sasuke and Naruto took their bentos without a word and, almost simultaneously, peeked inside. That was another reason she was late- she had spent way too much time trying to make the divisions cute and professional- until she looked at the clock and realized she needed to go.

Nervous, she watched their expressions. Sasuke had gone quiet and still- well, stiller than he normally was. It was, of course, impossible to read his expression. Naruto on the other hand had gone suspiciously quiet and that worried Sakura far more.

"I know they aren't much- just somethings I had on hand-"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto looked like he was about to burst out crying, "this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me!"

"What!" Sakura knew that wasn't true- he had told her the story of how he received his forehead protector after all.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto clapped his hands over the bento.

"Naruto! That's for lunch!" But it was too late, he was already scarfing down the food like he had never eaten before in his life.

"Thanks."

She looked at Sasuke in surprise and then immediately flushed. This was the first time he had ever thanked her for anything!

"Oh- it's no problem. We're just working so hard. And I saw the boxes on sale. And we need to keep up our strength if we're going to be Ninjas-" She realized she was babbling and promptly sat down and pulled her book out of her bag.

"Hey-hey- Sakura-chan- what are we learning about today? Hmm? Hmmm?" Naruto seemed even more excited after finishing the entire bento box.

"Eh?" Sakura looked up from the book.

"You know- you always bring something cool to talk about. The flowers. The med box. Poisons-" Naruto checked them off on his fingers, "We should call you Sakura-sensei!"

"Sakura-sempai, maybe!" She grinned. She hadn't thought of her now daily lectures as a class. It had just been Naruto asking so many questions and her enjoying showing off her knowledge. She held up her book. "This is a book on the first shinobi war!"

Naruto groaned and fell over. "Ugh. No. Boring. Teach us something cool, Sakura-sempai-chan, like a jutsu!"

"I know all the same jutsu's you do, Naruto. And history is important!" For beating Ino at least.

"But it's so boring!" Naruto's face a mask of despair. "Not important, like fighting! Or Jutsus! I need cool Jutsu's to become the Hokage!" Sakura was about to yell at him for being an idiot when she paused. Naruto wasn't, really, an idiot. He just took a different way of looking at things.

"Naruto, imagine you had two kunai. And one was dull and off balance, while the other was sharp and well balanced." Naruto nodded seriously, face squished in concentration of his imagining. "It's better to have a sharp, well balanced kunai, but if you don't know how to throw it, it's not much use right?"

"You could cut someone, but you'd still want a sharp one, right?"

Sakura nodded, "Your ninja skill is like the kunai, but your ninja knowledge is like your aim. Or knowing where to cut someone to stop them."

"So…" Naruto scrunched his nose, "it doesn't matter if you have a dull kunai, because if you know how to aim, you can still win?"

"Yeah-" Sakura hadn't quite thought of it like that.

"Hey- Sakura, so if I have dull kunai, will you show me how to aim right?"

"Of course, Naruto!" Sakura grinned at him. Ino was wrong, she did have a place on this team, "We're a team!"

"Yeah! Then that means that Sasuke is like the kunai polish right? Because he keeps us sharp and clean?"

"Uh-"

"Dobe. I'm a shuriken."

"Wha-"

"Kunai are better than shuriken, right Sakura? Right?"

"Uh-"

"Not a Fuma Shuriken."

The analogy had clearly escaped them. Sakura sighed, then leaned forward and smacked first Naruto, then Sasuke with the book. Both shut up and looked at her stunned. Sakura felt stunned. She had never hit Sasuke before.

"You're a kunai," She pointed to Naruto, "and you're a shuriken," She pointed to Sasuke, "Both are important to me," She pointed to herself, "who is going to learn to aim you the best! Got it?"

"Got it Sakura-chan!" Naruto saluted.

"Hn." But it almost sounded like a happy grunt.

"Good." Sakura nodded and let out a breath, "Now, you- Naruto- who was the first Hokage!"

Hidden in the foliage at the edge of the clearing, Kakashi returned to his book. He had begun to watch his students and was pleased, but surprised, at the dynamics developing. Never had he expected Sakura to take a leadership role on his team. Support, maybe, with her obsession with Sasuke and disdain for Naruto. But apparently she was clever enough to capitalize on Naruto's affections and turn those towards learning and subtle enough to know Sasuke would shy from all overt overtures.

Clearly, his plan of making them wait was working brilliantly.

A/N: as always, let me know what you like, what you didn't like, and have a good day!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This is the chapter that would not end. So rambling, more fluffy than funny. Eventually there will be a proper plot, but I'm having so much fun hashing out the new Team Seven dynamics.

X.

Her days quickly fell into a routine of sorts, though she had never felt so busy or challenged in her life.

In the early morning, she would wake early and prepare bento's for her team. When Choji had heard her cooking regime, he had lent her some of his bento cook books. Sakura had paged through them and been shocked when she saw the level of preparation needed for each meal. Apples cut to look like bunnies she could do. Carrots carved into elaborate roses was too much.

By midmorning she had met up with Naruto and Sasuke at the bridge. They helped her prep for whatever upcoming debate with Team 10 she had. Some subjects like medicine, clan systems, and shinobi values, Sasuke would participate in- going so far as to even lecture. In others, such as history, geo-political developments, and technology, he was as ignorant as Naruto.

After they had finished their bentos, Kakashi-sensei would appear and they would complete a mission. She, Naruto, and occasionally Sasuke, had started a game to see how many different ninja skills they could fit into each mission. Were they shopping? Well, could they shop invisibly? Could clones shop for them? Could they use interrogation techniques to charm the shop owners into giving them better prices? Were they clearing a field or digging a ditch? What if they only used Jutsu to get rid of weeds? Or only their left hands? Or- The games continued.

Evenings were spent debating with Team 10, spending time with her parents if they were in town or the Yamanaka's, or going on dates with Naruto.

Dates with Naruto, she quickly realized, were really just excuses to hang out. When she put her foot down at going to ramen AGAIN, Naruto decided to show her all his favorite places in Konoha. They watched the sun set from the top of the Hokages monument. They wandered the city for hours, people watching and chatting. They went swimming in the Eastern river in the forest and caught frogs.

It was, Sakura mused nibbling on the last of her dango, more like spending time with a friend or a brother than a date. Naruto never tried to be romantic. Outside of the bouquets he brought when she was studying flowers, he never brought her presents- no chocolates or stuffed animals though her romance books insisted those were necessary gifts. He didn't even try to kiss her!

Actually, she realized, he didn't try to do anything. Not a kiss, not hand holding, not even a hug. For such an affectionate boy- and he was- he was very hands off.

Sakura scratched her nose, frowning as she tried to remember Asuma-sensei's comments on childhood psychological development and how that might affect the lessons at the Academy. Something about internalizing neglect?

"Naruto," She finally asked, "You grew up in an orphanage, right?"

"Right!" Naruto beamed at her, "But then Grandpa Hokage got me my own apartment. It's awesome. I have my own fridge, my own stove, my own-"

"What was the orphanage like?" Naruto didn't mind interruptions. It was the act of talking more than any particular subject that he enjoyed.

"Ummm… it was sort of cramped. There were a lot of kids- more than any other time before, I remember the nurses saying. The food was super boring- no ramen! Why Sakura-chan?"

"Did-" She hesitated. It seemed awkward to come right out and ask if he had ever been hugged by any of the caretakers, "Did you have any friends."

Naruto gave an awkward chuckle which meant he was hiding some emotion, "Eh… not really. I pulled a lot of pranks- you remember the one with the newts and the milk I told you about- and yeah. The caretakers didn't like me much and…" He sort of trailed off, but then beamed at her, "It doesn't matter now though! Because I've got you and Iruka-sensei and even the Teme isn't bad all the time! Hey- hey- what sort of mission do you think we'll do tomorrow?"

Sakura wasn't about to be put off so easily. "Naruto, why did you pull pranks though?" The more she knew of Naruto, the more she wondered. It was true he had a mischievous nature, but he had treated her with nothing but sweetness. She hadn't once found a frog in her bag or her water bottle poured over her or even been teased for her forehead. And she didn't understand why what sounded like innocent and simple pranks would have Naruto barred from certain shops. Surely someone had seen the real Naruto.

"Ummm…" Naruto looked like he was considering the question with great concentration. Maybe he was trying to employ some of the Shinobi mental tricks Sakura had been teaching him about knowing your own mind. A clear mind was an intangible target, as the teachings went. "I guess… because people noticed me? After they pranks, they looked at me."

"Huh." Sakura commented stupidly, "Do you want my last dango? I'm full."

Naruto looked relieved that the conversation had moved on, but Sakura's mind still gnawed at the problem. So it wasn't that Naruto played a prank and then people were mad at him. It was that people ignored him, he acted out to gain attention, people were angry, he had attention- and the vicious cycle continued. But what could cause a caretaker to ignore a little kid. A little orphan kid?

Sakura didn't know, but it made her angry and that anger prompted her to try something she normally would have laughed off, friends or no that she was with Naruto.

As they came to the intersection where they parted ways- Naruto to his apartment and Sakura to her home, she paused and looked at him. She could just turn and walk back. Wave him a goodbye as normal. No one would blame her.

"Sakura?"

Oh Hokage, why was this so difficult?

"Um. Naruto. Do you want a… hug?" she extended her arms halfheartedly in invitation, a flush hot on her cheeks. What was with her? She hugged Ino all the time. Her parents whenever she saw them. She had no reason to feel embarrassed for asking for a hug from her team mate. He could always say no-

"Ooof-" The air rushed out her lungs in a gust as Naruto all but threw himself at her. His arms wrapped around her so tightly that she thought her ribs were going to crack and- was he crying!

"Naruto-" Has she hurt him? Had one of her kunai escaped her pouch and he accidentally impaled himself on it?

"Sakura, you're so nice." Oh. He was fine. Just emotional. Sakura let out what little breath she had and then patted him on the back. He hadn't relaxed his grip at all. "When I am hokage, you are going to be my chief diplomat and talk to all the other nations and make them love you and then we won't ever have a war again!"

"Um. Ok?" Sakura hadn't thought about careers that far ahead. But she suspected that if Naruto ever became Hokage, they would have a chance to discuss it then.

"Hey, but Sakura?" He straightened and then rubbed his cheeks roughly. Sakura's ribs creaked as she took a discreet breath, "You don't need to worry about me!"

"Eh?" Sakura looked up quickly, but Naruto wasn't looking at her. His head was tilted back like he was looking at the stars.

"I know I didn't have friends growing up or a family or anything, but I'm good now. Like I said, I've got you and Teme as friends, Iruka-sensei as family. I'm really happy!"

He turned to beam at her and Sakura was struck by his insight. Naruto really did surprise her.

"Yeah. Ok." She agreed.

"See you tomorrow?" He asked, and she agreed, though the worry about why Naruto had been so abandoned still niggled at the back of her mind.

0X0X0X0X0

Knock, knock, knock

"Sakura, honey?"

Mmmm… so warm. So comfortable. She had been up too late reading up on history and now was so pleasantly comfortable in her bed. With the sun warm on her face.

Wait a minute.

The sun?

"Sakura, did you get a day off of training?"

Her father rapped on the door again, but Sakura's eyes were already wide with horror. Late! She was late! She was really, really late!

"No-no-no-no!" she muttered. Never had she flown out of bed so quickly, thrown on her dress so quickly, rushed passed her dad so quickly-

"I'll take that as a no," He laughed and followed her to the bathroom. "Sakura, will you be alright if I'm away for a few days?"

Sakura, trying to brush her teeth and her hair at the same time gave him a confused look. "Mrghs?" She asked.

"It's… Yoko." Her father admitted. "It's almost that day and... well, she isn't doing so well. And with Toru sent on the body guard mission." His voice trailed off. Yoko and Toru were her father's genin teammates and practically her aunt and uncle. When she was younger, she was confused at how her father could be married to her mother but devoted to these two other people. But now? She spat out a mouthful of toothpaste and thought about Naruto and Sasuke. How would it feel in five, ten years, not to spend time with them?

"It's fine," She told her father with real sincerity, "Take as much time as you need. You can bring Yoko over?" She offered. Though there was something about the green eyed woman and her obsessive checking of her senbon that put Sakura on edge.

Her father shook her head, "It's better if Yoko stays in familiar surroundings. You remember where her apartment is? If you need me, for anything, I'm still in Konoha."

She gave her father a quick hug and then saw the clock from behind his shoulder. Late!

"I'll see you later! Say goodbye before you're sent back to the hatchery!" She called back to him as she raced for the door. No time to make bentos. She would just have to apologize and offer to buy lunch or something.

Naruto was waiting at the bridge with Sasuke nowhere in sight.

"Sakura-chan!" His normally happy face was pulled into a grave expression as he ran towards her. "Are you ok?"

"Huh?" She frowned at him. "Yes? Oh- I forgot to set my alarm. Sorry I'm late."

Naruto let out a noticeable sigh of relief, then brightened. "I knew you would be ok. But then Sasuke-teme started freaking out because you were five minutes late and wouldn't calm down."

"What?" Sakura might have been flattered if she wasn't so confused. "I was at home. Where is he now?"

"Out looking for you."

"And he didn't check my house?"

Naruto shrugged, then brightened. "Hey! Sakura chan, I was thinking about last night and-" Sakura immediately regretted everything that happened last night- "do you think, you could-" He held out his arms and grinned embarrassedly- "Could I have another hug?"

Sakura melted. "Naruto, you don't need to ask for a hug." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and squeezed, "We're friends now, you can just give me a hug whenever." She really, really, really hoped she wouldn't come to regret those words.

"Really!?" Naruto shouted stepping back, "Sakura, you're the-"

"You're late."

Sasuke jumped down out of the tree followed by another Naruto. Sasuke reached out and smacked the Naruto that was following him. It puffed away in a cloud of smoke. A clone.

If she was still at her Academy understanding of Sasuke (the one where he was so cool, so gorgeous, so perfect, so awesome) she would have missed the subtle tightening around his eyes, the hardness at his jaws. But now, after nearly a month of observing him nearly every day, she could see the small emotional tells. He was upset. And… scared? Maybe she was reading that wrong.

"Where were you?" He stalked up to her, eyes still tight.

"Oh- I forgot to set my alarm and woke up late. I'm very sorry to make you worry-"

"I wasn't worried."

Sakura glanced over the tight shoulders, the hands balled in his pants, the look that could burn a hole through a kunai, "Right…." She agreed, "Well, if you're ever worried in the future, you could try checking, oh I don't know, my house first?"

"Tch." Sasuke turned on his heel but didn't quite stalk away. Still watching him out of the corner of her eye, she turned back to Naruto.

"Why did Sasuke have a clone of you with him?"

"Oh!" Naruto quickly made a clone who led her away to the side. Naruto jogged over to where Sasuke was standing. "Tell him something and then disperse him! Ok! This is really neat!"

"Um.." Sakura hesitated and then leaned forward, "I'm really sorry but I forgot lunches as well today. We can get ramen, my treat." She dispersed the clone with a quick punch and heard Naruto whoop.

"Really? Sakura! You're going to buy us ramen for lunch!"

Sakura blinked. Didn't she speak quietly enough to not be overheard?

"Um… What happened?"

Naruto jogged over to her, grinning. "It's cool right! Anything you tell my clone, when it's popped, I can hear! But only if I'm paying really close attention."

"Whoa." Sakura breathed, thinking back over the dinner she spent arguing about shiobi tactics on the battle field. They all agreed, eventually, that lack of communication led to the biggest problems. Ino's family was an important asset, but that level of jutsu was seriously draining. If everyone had a clone, what could that mean.

"Right? But you mean it Sakura? Ramen?"

"Oh- yeah," Sakura snapped out of her planning stage, "It's only fair considering I forgot your lunches today. I'll make some tomorrow-"

"Don't worry about-"

"Don't bother." Sasuke cut in. He was once again standing close enough to actually be considered normal. Sakura felt almost a little crowded.

"What?"

"Don't bother. You clearly can't manage your time well. It makes sense to remove a non-essential task."

"Hey!" Sakura felt a little stung by the accusation. Sure she had been busy juggling her extra studying, bentos, missions, and everything, but still. "If you didn't like them-"

"I'll do it."

"Bwaahahhaha." Naruto burst out laughing. "Sasuke cook? Like a girl!"

"Naruto-"

"At least, I am offering to help, dobe."

"What! I help!"

"Have you considered how busy Sakura is cooking for you, teaching you, wasting her time with you on those-

"Hey-"

"She's not wasting time! She's my friend-"

"What sort of "friend" forces their friend to carry their dead weight-"

"STOP!"

Both boys stopped bickering at her scream. Sakura took a deep breath and resisted the urge punch them both in the face. It would feel so good, Inner Sakura told her, one punch. But it wouldn't help.

"Sasuke." She turned on the dark haired boy and narrowed her eyes, "I. Am. Not. Wasting. My time with Naruto. He's my friend. I like spending time with him-"

"Yeah, teme!" Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke.

"Shut up Nartuo!" He flinched and she turned back to Sasuke, "I am also a ninja. I can decide what to do with my time and who to spend it with and I do not need a minder." A small part of herself protested at this. Of course she needed Sasuke as a minder, someone to protect her and love her and sweep her off her feet. Sakura ignored this part of her firmly.

"But," She drew herself up and took another breath, "You are also right. I… was spreading myself too thin."

"But Sakura-" Naruto protested, looking worried. "You only missed your alarm. That's normal!"

"It was just an alarm this time, Naruto," She replied a little more softly, "But what if the next time I forget to set up detection traps when we are in enemy territory. Or I forget the scroll we are supposed to be transporting? Or forget-" She spread her hands on her dress, "A ninja can't afford to make stupid mistakes."

Naruto and Sasuke were silent at this. The air of tension diminishing a little as they all inspected their shoes, or the clouds, or the trees. Sakura was the first to break the silence.

"So!" she clapped her hands, "I don't mind the teaching, because it's part of my goal to beat stupid Ino-pig and become the best Kunoichi ever! But if we," She hesitated, "If we took turns making lunch. That would help a lot."

"Ok!"

"Hn."

She took that to be two agreements. "And since Sasuke offered, he can make lunch for tomorrow." The tension in his shoulders began to relax and he nodded in agreement. "Ok. Peace?"

She held out the two fingers marking the end of a sparring match. Sasuke peered at them and then, reluctantly, wrapped his two fingers around hers. Peace.

Naruto's hand wrapped around theirs and hoisted their arms to the sky. "Team Seven for the win! Believe it!"

A/N: Hope you all are enjoying october. Let me know if the story amuses you. Also, is Naruto seeming too flat? I sometimes struggle to write him so he's a real character and not a caricature. Let me know if you have any suggestions.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I do not own Naruto. Please forgive any mistakes in Japanese or canon.

XI.

Sakura's POV:

It wasn't fair, Sakura thought as she opened the wood and lacquer bento and gazed inside. It just wasn't fair. Why did Sasuke have to be good at everything?

This bento looked like it came out of one of Choji's cook books. There were five colors, five flavors, five different ways of cooking the material. The ratios between meat, rice, and sides was perfect. The carrots were cut into the shape of flowers!

He must have spent hours on this, Sakura realized.

"Wow. Sasuke-teme- this is," Naruto trailed off, at a loss for words.

"Tch." Sasuke sounded pleased. "It could be better."

"It really, really couldn't." Sakura protested. Her mouth was watering just from the smell. Fat, salted salmon. Delicately rolled omlettes.

"My mom made better."

Sakura froze, then glanced up at Sasuke. He was looking away from them, as if memorizing the pattern of the shadows on the ground.

"She," her voice was softer than intended, "she must have been a good cook then."

"Yeah." Sasuke shoved his hands further into his pocket, glaring at the ground. "She was."

Naruto shifted, as if he was about to say something, but Sakura shook her head quickly. This was the first time Sasuke had ever mentioned his parents or his past. If they pushed it-

"Get off, dobe!"

Sakura blinked. Naruto had his arms around Sasuke's shoulders, holding on for dear life, as Sasuke frantically tried to get away.

"No!" Naruto clung tighter, "You're just like me- but don't you get it? We're not alone anymore! We have Sakura-chan! And-"

"I'm. Not. Like. You-"

"Sakura-chan! Help!"

Sakura hesitated. On one hand, Sasuke could probably extract himself from Naruto's grip fourteen different ways. On the other hand, if Sasuke was accepting hugs….

"Are my cute students having a picnic without me?"

"Eh! Kakashi-sensei!"

Their teacher was crouched over the bento's, chopsticks in hand. When he saw them looking, he raised a hand in greeting.

"Yo!"

0X0X0X0

Kakashi's POV

"Is everything ok, sensei?"

Naruto immediately let go of Sasuke and ran over to him, face a mask of confusion. Sakura was staring at him incredulously. Sasuke preformed the correct hand signs to dispel any genjutsus. He wondered if he should feel offended that this was his student's reaction to his presence. He decided against it.

"Of course it is, Sakura-chan. We agreed to meet at the bridge every morning?"

"Yeah, but it's morning." Naruto pointed an accusing finger at him, "Who are you and what did you do with Kakashi-sensei?"

"Maaa, I thought my cute little students would be happy to see me!" Kakashi rose from his crouch and looked down at them, "Especially when I brought something for you." It was satisfying to see their faces switch from looks of annoyance to intrigue.

"Eh? What is it? What is it? Did you bring us some awesome new jutsu's to learn?"

"Not quite," Kakashi fished a scroll out of his hip pouch, "A new mission!"

Their faces lit up.

"Is it a c-rank?" Sakura asked, eyes shining. He could almost see her little rivalry with Asuma's girl flaring.

"Will we leave the city?" Sasuke stepped forward, looking more alive than Kakashi had seen before.

"Even better!" Their faces lit with hope and excitement. Kakashi smiled under his mask, "We're going to locate the Daimyo's cat!" Their faces fell.

"Again?"

"But we've already done that! Twice!"

"Tch."

"Now, now, we're going to do it a little differently this time." He meant to sound reassuring, but they looked anything but. He turned to his pink haired genin, "Sakura-chan- I want you to lead this mission. Everyone else, including me, has to take orders from you."

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered like he was the one selected, "Captain Sakura-sempai-chan!" Even Sasuke only shrugged without a glower.

"What's the mission objective?" Sakura asked, already frowning slightly at him. Hmmm. So Asuma wasn't completely wrong with his attempts to teach the rookies how to see underneath the underneath.

"To find the cat, Sakura-chan."

"No, what's the secondary objective." She crossed her arms, "As fast as possible, as efficiently as possible, unnoticed by civilians, learning new skills?"

Kakashi tapped his chin as though thinking. So, this explains why his cute little genin were taking longer on some of their missions. He had been wondering why the three of them had been weeding the hospital gardens in slow motion.

"Whatever you like!" He decided finally and smiled when Sakura glared at him. She huffed and closed her eyes.

"Ok- we already have one strategy to catch the cat- we could improve on it, but I don't know what use that is. And we could practice being unseen, which might be useful except that we're already pretty good at it with the shopping and-" She paused and opened her eyes. "Ok, Sasuke, I'm going to need you to go back to your house and grab any salmon you have left over. Also any ninja wire or rope. Naruto- you need to go get me that map of Konoha you drew. If we do this right, we'll be done with the mission by the end of the hour!"

Both boys shot off like bolts and Sakura sat down, closed her eyes, and apparently fell deep into thought. Kakashi used the time to eat the rest of Naruto's omlette, Sakura's salmon, and Sasuke's tomatoes.

He was interested to see how Sakura handled the responsibility of being a team captain. At least twice a week, he met up with Asuma at one of the shinobi bars and the man bragged about how his team was coming together so neatly through their dinner conversations: the Yamanaka was the will, the Nara was the brains, the Akimichi was the heart. He had seen Kakashi there and complimented him on his training of Sakura-chan. How sharp and subtle her mind was becoming. Kakashi had been intrigued and begun to watch his team more closely.

They were an interesting bunch of youngsters. When he had first met them, he would have written them off as a hopeless team. Sometimes, despite the best efforts of the teacher and the world, teams would cohabitate, exist next to each other, but never really click. Or, worse, be torn by infighting. His almost had been if not for Rin and he saw all too easily the same happening for this team.

In Sasuke, he could almost see himself- haunted, driven, skilled. In Nartuo were all the signs of Obito- emotional, distracted, a good heart. It was only Sakura who differed- where Rin was a calm and steady presence between his and Obito's bickering, she devoted herself fully to role as medic and support. Sakura. Well, Sakura was neither calm, nor stead, and showed no signs of becoming the support medic. Somehow that seemed to work.

Now, all that was required was to legitimize her quiet leadership. To see if Naruto, who had dreams of becoming Hokage, and Sasuke, who resented working with or for anyone, would be able to take her orders when they weren't couched in suggestions. To see if Sakura, when asked to take responsibility for her role, wouldn't revert back to the giggling, blushing girl he met that first day.

"Sakura! Got it!" Naruto came running back waving a sheet of paper in the air. "Eh! Kakashi! You ate our lunch!"

"What!" Sakura spun and saw the decimated remains of their lunches. "Sasuke made those for us! He spent hours!"

"They could use less salt." Kakashi admitted.

"Tch." Sasuke appeared and glared down at the remains of the lunches. He dropped the salmon and ninja wire into Sakura's lap and then, very stiffly, packed the lunches away- glaring at Kakashi all the while. He dropped the boxes next to Sakura and sat down.

"I'm not cooking for him." He told her.

"You don't have to. He's not part of the rotation." Kakashi pulled a tragic face when Naruto glared at him then dropped to a crouch next to Sakura. His cute little team, excluding him completely from their planning. Oh well. Icha Icha Paradise would never abandon him.

0X0X0X0

Sakura's POV

"Ok. Naruto, do you know how to make a basic snare trap?"

"What's a snare trap?"

Well, that answered that. "Sasuke?"

"Hn." She took that to mean yes.

"Would you show Naruto for a second? And Naruto is it ok if I draw on your map?"

"Sure thing, Captain Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned as Sasuke grabbed his collar and hauled him over to a stand of bushes. Sakura breathed, excited to try out her new plan. Then she grabbed a pen and began marking X's on the map.

"Maa.. Sakura-chan, what are you doing?" Kakashi's voice came from over her left shoulder and Sakura jumped- heart racing. She hadn't even heard him come over!

"Oh. I'm marking down the places we last found the cat and where Ino's group found the cat." The X's were bunched in the North Eastern corner of the map in green spaces. "It likes to run for this park, here. Or, if it's been enough time, for the forest. Do you have the mission report?"

Kakashi handed her the scroll which she broke open. As she read, he studied the map. It was exquisitely drawn- roads labeled, houses marked out, even telephone poles dotted in. Not professional cartography, but impressive.

"Naruto made this?" He asked mildly. Sakura nodded.

"It was for a prank that went wrong." She was drawing thin lines of concentric circles radiating from the Konoha Grand Hotel. "There." She sat back on her heels and called the boys over. They ran back and squatted down around the map. Sakura pointed to the hotel.

"Ok. We know that the Fire Daiymo's wife likes to stay in the corner suite of the Konoha Grand Hotel. Based on where we and Team 10 have found the cat in the past, we can assume that it leaves through the North East window, down the balcony and into the garden. It then usually heads towards this gate, seeking to get to the forest. The last time we caught it- here. It had escaped for four hours, because we didn't get to the mission office in time." All three students turned to glare at their sensei who smiled at them cheerfully.

"But." Sakura continued, "Ino said she caught it- here. After only two and a half hours of escaping. According to the Daiymo's wife- who is pretty accurate about the cat loss- it went missing an hour and forty five minutes ago which means the cat, if it follows it's normal route," she pointed to an arch drawn between two lines, "it should be in this area. If we take a half hour to learn our traps and set them up, it should be here." Her finger moved up.

"Hey- hey- Sakura-chan. Why don't I just make clones and look for it in this place?"

"Too slow," Sasuke answered, studying the map, "Waste of energy."

"Also, we would be wasting our favorite sensei's chance to teach us about traps," Sakura added sweetly with a smile, "Since we finally have his attention." Naruto nodded in understanding.

"I'm right here," Kakashi protested, but his students ignored him.

"And traps are important," He concluded, "Because, uh, they can slow people up or catch people we're hiding from or animals for dinner or, huh, pretty useful."

"Exactly," Sakura agreed. "So I was thinking a trap here-"

"Here-" Sasuke pointed a half inch to the left, "There's an animal track through the shrubs. Probably goes through that." Sakura nodded and marked a circle.

"And here!" Naruto exclaimed jamming his finger on the road. "I didn't draw it, but there's an island in the middle and the road can be pretty busy. It probably will run across and hide here." Sakura nodded and drew another circle.

"Where else?"

In less than ten minutes they had come up with twenty ideas and whittled them down to five. Sakura calculated they would have just enough wire and salmon to mess up one trap, and- the three turned to Kakashi with grins.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura held out the wire, "Would you teach us how to trap an enemy shinobi?"

0X0X0X0

Kakashi's POV

His team was very proud of themselves, Kakashi noticed, with good reason. The mission had gone off smoothly after the training session. Though trap work wasn't his specialty, Kakashi remembered enough variations to leave them bright eyed in anticipation of finding the cat. Should he be worried about how eager they were to string up everything from cats to shinobi?

Nah.

Kids will be kids.

"Alright, my cute little genin, mission review time."

"What!" Naruto jumped to his feet, "What's that! We never do that!"

"It's a chance to evaluate our strengths and weaknesses on a mission, dobe." Sasuke explained. Sakura didn't say anything, just pet Tora, who was purring mightily in her arms, and watched Kakashi suspiciously.

"Exactly," Kakashi agreed, "I give you all a gold start for effectiveness." They brightened and Naruto cheered- punching his fist into the air.

"But," continued Kakashi, "if this was a real mission, you all would have failed!" Their faces dropped.

"What! But we did so well- Sakura's plan was great! And the teme made good traps- and- and-"

"You failed on team work, which was Sakura-chan's fault." He turned towards Sakura who looked devastated. Clearly the praise or censure of authority still weighed heavily in her mind.

"Hey wait a minute!" Naruto protested, "Sakura was brilliant! She knew where to look and when and-"

"No, he's right, Naruto." Sakura interrupted quietly. A look of extreme concentration had replaced the shock.

"What!"

"Kakashi-sensei was part of the team," Sasuke muttered. Kakashi wanted to beam at all of them for grasping the issue so quickly.

"And I didn't take his skills into account." Sakura continued.

"But you asked him to teach us traps-" Naruto started but then paused, "Huh. But. We don't even know what you can do!"

"You can always ask," Kakashi said cheerfully, then turned to Sakura, "When you're a Chuunin captain, you'll often be paired with ninja whose skills you aren't intimately familiar with, but are still expected to use. In this case, I am a jounin and could have found the cat far more easily than all your maps and calculations."

"But-" Sakura started to protest.

"It's not enough to have one good idea, Sakura-chan. A ninja must have many good ideas and be flexible enough to adapt them depending on the situation- and that includes team members." Sakura nodded and didn't say anything else. She looked abashed.

"So what can you do?" Sasuke was glaring at him. "So Sakura knows for next time."

Good, Kakashi thought, even after seeing their leader's flaws pointed out, they are still loyal. And Sakura wasn't too insecure about her position to refuse reprimand. There were many ninja for whom the title Captain meant more than the actual leading.

"Later!" He deflected cheerfully and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

A/N: I was able to write some Kakashi! Hopefully, the different POV's made the story a little more interesting. I'm trying to work on pacing. As always, you guys are a great audience. Let me know what worked for you, what didn't work, and how you like the story! Cheers!


	9. Chapter 9

"Forehead-chan! Where is Sasuke-kun?"

Ino was waving from the entrance of the main mission building. Shikamaru lounged behind her and Choji munched from his ever present bag of chips. Not for the first time, Sakura wondered where the plump boy kept all his snacks. If it was some arcane jutsu, he might be a more powerful ninja than any of them.

"Pig-chan! None of your business." Sakura was grateful for the distraction. Ever since Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves, Team Seven's moral was low. Yes, they had successfully caught Tora, but they had failed the mission. Sakura had been so positive she was doing well- using her team's strengths, using the mission as a training opportunity- but she forgot something totally obvious. None of Naruto's encouragement changed that.

Their low mood was also brought on because Kakashi had managed to finish most of their lunch when they were finding Tora. Sakura could almost imagine what he'd say: 'If I had been given something to do, I wouldn't have had time to eat, right Sakura-chan?' He was the most aggravating teacher! Sasuke had elected to take the bento boxes home and meet them at the mission office after they returned the cat.

"Awwww! You caught Tora-chan?" Ino smirked at her, "How long did it take this time? Three hours?"

"An hour," Sakura announced. Actually, she was proud of that. It was a huge improvement over their last attempt, Kakashi-sensei helping or no. "And that was mostly because Kakashi-sensei was teaching us new traps."

"Well," Ino flipped her hair behind her shoulder, "We're still faster."

"By fifteen minutes," Sakura challenged.

"Want to bet?" Ino leaned forward, hands on her hips and eyes alight with competition, "Next time Team 10's going to find Tora in less than a half hour!" Behind her, Shikamaru rolled his eyes and Naruto scoffed.

"Yeah?" Naruto, never one to be left out of a challenge, slung his arm around Sakura's shoulders and adjusted his forehead protector, "Then Team 7 will do it in twenty minutes! Believe-!"

Tora yaowled in a panic and ripped himself from Sakura's arms- opening up a long gash in her shoulder. The cat shaped streak disappeared into the bushes as fast as its tiny legs could carry it.

"Naruto! You know you can't get near Tora when I'm holding him!" Sakura scolded. The cat was damn terrified of Naruto- ready to lash out at anything and everything to get away, which was why Sakura had the dubious honor of carrying him back.

"Sorry, Sakura-" Naruto muttered. He brightened quickly though. "But hey! Maybe we can use this as a competition?"

Ino's eyes lit up. "Yeah! Team 10 vs. Team 7. Whoever catches Tora first is the-"

"Did someone lose a cat?"

Six heads swiveled to stare as Team 8 came around the corner. Tora meowed pitifully and struggled to escape, but Kiba had him in a firm grip by the scruff of his neck. He was smiling hugely, a dango stick stuck between his teeth. Hinata, upon seeing the group, immediately blushed and ducked behind Shino who appeared- well, who could tell what Shino was thinking?

Naruto slumped and Ino groused. That was an unexpected resolution to that competition.

"Thanks." Sakura said as she took the cat from Kiba, "You saved us a lot of hassle."

"Or fun." Naruto muttered under his breath.

"Catching this cat is not fun," Shino said, "Why? Because it is an easy mission."

"Psha." Ino muttered, "How long does it take you?"

Kiba glanced back at his team, "Five minutes?" He asked. Hinata nodded, ducking deeper into her coat.

"FIVE MINUTES!" Naruto's jaw was on the ground. "But-but- how!"

"Because we're obviously the best team!" Kiba grinned wildly and struck a pose while his puppy barked in agreement. The cat yowled again.

"No, but how?" Sakura was genuinely curious, "It used to take us two hours. We only found it by accident when Naruto scared it out of a tree."

"It is simple," Shino held out his hands for Tora and Sakura relinquished the cat, much to the cat's dismay. "Why? Because I have marked it." He dug his finger into Tora's coat and withdrew a tiny insect on the tip of his finger. It waved it's antennae in the air happily. Sakura remembered back to one of her and Ino's debates on clan politics. Konoha was unusually gifted in specialized clans. One of which were the Abruame and their deep connection with insects. Some insects were bred to be poisonous, some to drain chakra, others to act as sentries.

"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed, "You have a tracking colony! That must be the female and the males you have can smell her. Clever." She said in admiration. Damn, she wished she had thought to mark the damn cat- it was a pity none of Team 7 had a blood line limit like those.

"Yes." Shino said simply, "it is." He gently replaced the tiny bug who disappeared into Tora's fur and handed her back to Sakura. The cat clung to her like a life preserver. Clearly, it was not fond of either Akamaru or Shino's bugs.

"Yeah! And that's not all!" Kiba bragged, "Akamaru and I can sniff out the cat if it's too far away and Hinata can look for it in the underbrush. There's nowhere for it to hide!"

Ino and Sakura exchanged a look. It was hard to compete with that skill level and those techniques. Silently and mutually they agreed to drop Find Tora as a point of rivalry.

"Out of luck today. No more D rank missions." Asuma sensei trailed out of the mission office and greeted his team. Ino sighed in aggravation but Asuma only smiled and pulled a cigarette from his pocket. "We could try showing up earlier."

Team 10 shared a look and Sakura could almost see the train of thoughts. Yes, they technically, physically could show up to the mission office earlier. They could run around the city doing menial chores that Ino found beneath her and Shikamaru found troublesome. Choji's first choice of anything was to eat. But then Ino caught Sakura watching her and her expression hardened.

"Alright," She agreed and turned to her team mates, jaw set. "Tomorrow we are showing up at 9 and getting the best mission." Asuma's eyebrows lifted in amusement and Shikamaru groaned. Kiba snickered something that sounded like "whipped" to Shino.

"Kiba." A woman materialized behind the boy and laid a hand on his head. He immediately flushed.

"Sorry, Kurenai-sensei." Kiba muttered. Oh, so that was their teacher. Sakura had never seen the red-eyed jounin before- she was really pretty.

"Oh, Kurenai, my team is going to head to lunch," Asuma grinned around his cigarette, "Would you like to come with us? They have a great sake bar," He prompted as she seemed to hesitate.

"I am interested in seeing these debates you brag about," She allowed.

"Great- in that case," Asuma turned to her, "It's a little early, but would you mind joining us?"

Before Sakura could answer, Naruto cupped a hand around her ear. She clamped down on Tora before he could run off again. "Hey-hey Sakura-chan, can Sasuke and I come with you?" Maybe he was trying to be quiet, but it didn't work. Ino's sharp ears picked up the question and her eyes immediately brightened.

"Oh yes! You have to bring your team, Sakura! It will be an Academy reunion!" Sakura gave her a flat look. As if. The only thing Ino probably wanted was to sit next to Sasuke and make goo-goo eyes. Though if she did that, her concentration would probably be nil, which means that Sakura could win this debate handily and-

"Yeah! Let's do that!" Sakura grinned. She really needed a win right now after their last mission. "We'll drop Tora off and meet you at the restaurant?"

"Don't forget Sasuke-kun!" Ino sang with a wave as Team 10 and Team 8 headed down the street. Kiba immediately began discussing how the Uchiha wasn't that great and did Ino know they had done a C-rank mission? Sakura rolled her eyes at Naruto and they went to return the poor, traumatized cat. Maybe it would think twice before escaping this time.

A/N: This was a hard chapter to write, because there were so many characters. I wasn't sure how to juggle the keeping the dialogue fast paced and in character while not having certain characters disappear into the background. But that's why I'm glad to be writing this story! It's teaching me lots of things!


	10. Chapter 10

To say Sasuke-kun was not pleased about being invited (or dragged) to a Rookie Reunion lunch would be like saying the sky was blue or ninja enjoyed learning new ninjutsu. It was indisputably true and did not need to be said.

Luckily, Sakura had built up a tolerance to the patented Uchiha glowers that would have, months ago, sent her into a miserable, rejected, existential slump, wondering why her the beloved object of her affections hated her, and how would they ever end up together, and what if Ino pig married him and won and-

It was sort of pathetic honestly. Sakura mentally patted herself on the back for her growth these past months.

"It will be fun," She reassured him.

"Hn." He disagreed.

"We'll get to see all our classmates from the Academy, won't that be nice?"

"Hn." Clearly it would be worse than getting your eyes torn out.

"Don't you want to see Sakura beat everyone else and be the smartest Kunoichi ever!"

"Hn." A negative, but hedging into uncertainty and that maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing. Naruto and Sakura exchanged glances of triumph and she leaned in for the killing blow.

"I'll make sure you don't sit next to Ino."

"Hn." A grudging acceptance on the condition that he would sit there, he would glower, but he would not enjoy it.

Naruto and Sakura shared a high five.

0X0X0X0

When they reached the restaurant, Team 7 was escorted back to the private dining room. Sakura's eyebrows rose. She had never been considered powerful or important enough to warrant one of the private tables. Though, she amended as she entered and saw the collection of people, with this many members and this many clans represented, it was a big deal for the restaurant.

The teams were grouped on the sides of the square tables with the instructors at the head. Ino was clearly annoyed with this arrangement, but brightened when she saw them enter.

"Oh Sasuke-kun!" She cooed, patting the seat kitty corner to her, "I saved you this seat! You can sit here!"

Sasuke immediately took the middle seat.

"Nice," She hissed to Ino as she took the seat next to her friend instead, "Very smooth."

"About as smooth as your huge forehead, Forehead girl." Ino muttered, but didn't press. She knew Sakura had won this round. Naruto took the last remaining seat and Hinata, who was sitting on the corner next to him, immediately squeaked and sunk into her coat.

Huh, Sakura thought and fixed the girl with a hard stair. If the little Hyuuga Princess was going to get hung up on sitting next to Naruto, she had another thing coming for her. No one insulted her friend. Hinata caught the glare and, instead of backing down, raised her chin slightly and straightened.

"Excellent!" Asuma leaned forward once the waitress disappeared with the orders. He seemed even more pleased today than usual. "Now this is a little larger group than we are used to, so I am going to switch things up. We'll do team debates. I'll posit an idea, one team will defend it, one team will attack it, the third team will act as moderators and judges."

"Remember that my team has never played this game before," Kurenai said mildly over her cup of sake.

"Don't worry, we'll pick a topic everyone can speak on," Asuma grinned, "We have just about covered most of Konoha's history and I don't want to give Ino or Sakura an unfair advantage by repeating things, so we'll stay within recent history- from the sealing of the nine-tails until today. And the topic is clans. To start, who can tell me what a clan is?"

Ino slapped her hand on the table before Sakura finished hearing the question. Hinata jumped, but it was their way of deciding who answers first. "Clans are collections of individuals with family ties who share some physical traits or abilities. In the ninja world, they are remnants from the original developers of chakra who honed and specialized their techniques to create the powerful ninjutsu we see today."

Asuma nodded, "Any other understanding from the clan members?" He glanced around the table. Sakura had several things she wanted to say, but, not being from an established clan herself, kept her mouth shut. Team 8 glanced at each other silently and then Kiba shrugged.

"Clans have a lot of secrets," He scratched Akamaru behind the ears, "And most of the jutsu's we learn at the Academy were created by the second hokage and taught to the village as a sign of trust and good will."

"Indeed. There is a difference between a clan such as the Yamanaka and a clan such as the Uchiaha." He nodded to each member in turn, "What is this difference? The Yamanaka soul bind technique is not a blood line limit. While the Yamanaka may possess and advantage in casting it, any other ninja with enough control would be able to learn to do the same." Ino frowned at him.

"Except that it is a clan secret."

"Yes." Shino agreed. "But if when you have children you will be able to teach them this technique- they will not know it instinctively. Compare this to the Uchiha Sharingan which can only be awakened by the Uchiha clan. This is a blood line limit." Next to her, Sakura felt Sasuke stiffen at the mention of his family.

"Um…" Hinata spoke up, twisting her fingers together, "W-when I look at Yamanaka-san's eyes, I notice they are different. S-so maybe in a few generations if her clan continues to develop their techniques they will develop a blood line limit of their own?"

"As the specialized chakra use continues to change the genetic information of its user." Sakura breathed in excitement. She had never read of any idea like this but it was fascinating!

Kurenai shot Asuma a smug glance as if to say her team didn't need any specialized training to contribute to a debate.

"So," Sakura was still caught in the idea, "If I develop a set of techniques, it's possible that my great-great-great-grand daughter might carry a Haruno blood line limit?"

"Possibly," Shino allowed looking at her, "but unlikely. Why? Because you have more value as an undesignated Kunoichi."

Sakura and Ino shot each other confused looks. That contradicted everything that they had read and debated previously. Clans were essential for the health of the village. The more and stronger clans, the stronger the village. Shikamaru sighed.

"Marriage, Sakura." Shikamaru sighed, "Ino can't marry any of us because she needs her kids to continue the Yamanaka traits rather than be born with, oh, the Sharingan." Ino paled immediately, slumping back into her chair in disbelief. Sasuke could have been carved from granite.

Shikamaru continued, seemingly oblivious to the dismay he had created. "But Sakura you're a decent ninja with no clan. You could marry into any clan and expect that the clan's bloodline would be passed to your children along with your developed chakra coils. I guess that's true for Naruto as well.

"It's why," He sighed as everyone stared at him, "We teach civilian children at all. To make sure the clans can continue without becoming inbred or intermingling."

"What!" Naruto cried, "I can't marry Sakura-chan!" Sakura resisted the urge to facepalm.

"You can marry whoever you want." Kurenai cut in. "These are just loose guidelines and you are certainly not limited to the people at this table. And Sakura- your worth as a kunoichi stems from more than your marriageability." That last phrase was directed rather pointedly at Asuma who gave an aggravated sigh.

"Alright," He sat up and leaned his elbows on the table, "It's clear that everyone has a grasp on what the clans are. So, my first premise to you is: Clans are harmful to the continuation of Konoha. Team 8 you are going to defend this premise. Team 10 you are going to disagree. Team 7 you are going to monitor and judge. You have two minutes to think, then Team 8, you'll start."

Sakura was grateful that her team wouldn't have to make an argument. Sasuke looked like he was barely breathing and Naruto looked too stunned by the discussion of blood lines to function.

Team 8 bent their heads together and began murmuring too softly to hear. When they finally broke, Sakura was surprised to see it was Hinata who leaned forward to speak.

"Um… C-clans c-can be bad. Because there is a main house and a branch house. A-and sometimes the branch house doesn't like the main house. And they don't get recognized, even if they are really good. And-and that's not fair!" Hinata broke out angrily. Kurenai shot her a comforting look and Hinata nodded.

There were follow up questions Sakura could have asked, but this felt like it was toeing dangerously close into intra-clan politics of which there were many rules and customs about which she knew nothing. So she looked over to Team 10 to indicate they could reply.

"There doesn't have to be just main and branch lines," Choji shrugged. "My clan has about five family lines and yeah, my dad is the chief and sits at the Clan Council, but he doesn't make any real decisions without consulting everyone."

"But what about inheritance! You're going to be the next Chief right?" Hinata broke in. Choji shrugged with one shoulder as if the idea didn't really concern him. "Bu-but what if you had been born as twins! One of you was going to be chief and the other had to be branch even though he didn't do anything and all his children were branch and-"

"I mean." Choji interrupted scratching his chin, "My grandmothers were twins. They just ran the clan together. Took turns. Until Grandma Choka decided to quit and open a restaurant."

"But-" Hinata began. She looked quite overwhelmed at the news and blinked at Choji. Sakura was now very confused and very curious about what life was like for Hinata behind her clan's closed doors. Clans were just a part of life in the hidden. She knew, intellectually, that there were special roles and ceremonies they participated in. The Akimichi clan always held big feasts during the high festival days and Ino complained of her waist line afterwards.

But on a general, family level- Sakura had always assumed clan kids were raised like herself. Maybe that wasn't true.

Choji considered his response carefully, "If you want, you can come over to a clan dinner and see what a meeting is like."

"They last forever though," Shikamaru warned. Hinata didn't say anything, but blushed and nodded with greater certainty. Her eyes, as best as Sakura could tell, took a distant look.

"Alright," Sakura said when Team 8 sat back in their chairs, "Team 10, do you have an argument for why the clan system benefits Konoha?" Choji and Shikamaru turned to stare at Ino, but the blond girl was lost in what looked like tragic thought. Clearly, Shino's comment about her marriage prospects had stunned her. Finally, Shikamaru sighed.

"Konoha was founded on a coalition of powerful clans. When the world thinks of Konoha, they think of the Hyuugans or the Uchiha, some of the strongest clans." Sakura felt Sasuke twitch beside her. He had gone deathly still during the course of this conversation.

"If we want the important mission contracts that finance our town," Shikamaru continued, "We need public recognition and approval. Thus we need the clan names."

Sakura was surprised that Shikamaru chose that tact. If she was debating, she would have immediately brought up that while historically that was true, after five generations, most civilians were more apt to recognize the Hidden village names, if they recognized anything. It was only the upper levels of the various Daiymo courts that were concerned with the elite clan shinobi. But Team 8 took a different track.

"I do not think clans are so important for recognition," Shino adjusted his glasses as he leaned back in his chair, "Why? Because the Hokages are the most recognized members of any village and they are not of a traditional clan."

"Yeah!" Kiba chimed in before Sakura could indicate Shikamaru was allowed to respond, "Look at the Fourth! He was just a civilian. And the Third is just a Sarutobi- that's not a famous clan at all." Asuma raised an amused eyebrow at this comment. Clearly, Kiba had forgotten who was at the table.

"That's because there is a delicate balance between the clans." Shikamaru drawled, "If any one of us became Hokage, everyone else start complaining and making a fuss about one clan getting too much power. Sort of like the Uchiha at the founding of Konoha. The only people who could be Hokage would be unaffiliated, from a lesser clan, or a Senju."

"Hey, hey, Sakura," Sakura was distracted from the conversation as Naruto tugged on her sleeve, reaching over Sasuke. "I'm unaffiliated, right? Right? That means I get to be Hokage!"

"Yeah, I guess." She glanced at Sasuke whose eyes had hardened again. "Are you ok?"

"Fine." He bit out the word sharply. Right… Sakura tuned back into the debate which had shifted, without her input to Team 8. Shino mentioned the inter-clan squabbling as a reason to remove the clan system.

"Why? Because you would prefer a dictatorship?" Ino snapped.

"Ino-" Sakura warned and her friend sighed and straightened.

"Fine. If we don't have the Clan Council to represent the interests of the Clans, then the Hokage will have too much power. What if we elect a hokage who has a grudge against a clan. Or prefers one to the others. He could send certain clans on more dangerous missions or save the cushiest ones for the clan he likes. The Clan Council acts as a balance to that power."

Sakura was impressed by the speech. Ino had a good head for politics. Shino, however, remained unconvinced.

"And the civilians," He asked, "Do they not also have rights as a part of Konoha."

"They have the Civilian Council." Ino replied. "They meet once a month and bring civilian concerns to the Hokage and Clan Council."

"Yeah, but they're not as good right?" Kiba asked.

Ino shrugged, "Honestly, this is a Hidden Village. It's for ninjas. We're the ones who put our lives on the line to make it profitable. If a civilian doesn't like it, they can move."

"Ino." Choji frowned at her. This had been a long standing argument between them.

"It's true." Ino protested, "Actually, that's our next point. We need the clans because only clans are able to accurately represent in government the affairs of the ninjas and make sure we get the support we need."

"B-but what about ninjas l-like Naruto," Hinata spoke up again, "He doesn't have anyone to represent him."

"Hahahah- Hinata you don't need to worry about that! I'm going to be Hokage so I can represent myself then, believe it!" Sakura felt the need to speak up as the only unaffiliated ninja who was aware of politics.

"Actually, unaffiliated shinobi have their own government offices and programs to represent their needs. Since we don't have clan structures, banking, retirement plans or health insurances to back us up, the government takes care of us. For a hefty chunk of paychecks," She added, remembering her mother's griping. "We're basically government employees. Or part of the government clan."

"So what the heck does the Clan Council do?" Kiba demanded.

"Um. Mostly make sure that the specific and special interests of the clan are represented." Sakura said. "Like ensuring that the Inuzaka's have first access to any vets- shinobi or civilian." Kiba nodded in approval.

"Alright. Our turn." He turned to grin at Shikamaru, teeth sharp. "The clan system promotes loyalty to the clan first and Konoha second. Which means that they could turn traitor if they thought it was in their clan's best interest."

Shikamaru frowned, "After all this time, I sort of doubt any clan worth anything would be willing to turn traitor. Konoha represents their interests too well."

"Yeah? Well, what about the Uchiha? My mum said that they were never loyal and were always unhappy with their position. She could smell it."

Sasuke twitched next to Sakura and she saw the tightness in his eyes grow. Hinata also noticed.

"K-kiba, I think-"

But Kiba was just warming to his point, "Yeah, and look what happened to them! My mum says that any clan that really valued loyalty wouldn't have been betrayed like they were!"

Ino frowned, leaning forward, "You can't blame an entire clan for the actions of one person!"

"Can't you?" Kiba demanded, "Breeding runs true! If the mum's crazy, the pup will be too."

The chopsticks snapped in Sasuke's hands, but no one noticed.

"There's a difference between crazy and-"

"And what?" Kiba demanded, "You have to be pretty damn crazy to murder your ENTIRE clan in one night-"

"Yeah but he was only 13 or something-"

"Too crazy and too strong- they should never have been-"

SLAM!

Sakura slammed her hand on the table hard enough to rattle all the glassware. The argument stopped abruptly as everyone turned to look at her. Sakura realized she was standing.

Crap. What was she going to say? She needed to say something that would distract everyone at the table from the discussion of the Uchiha massacre. But what? Everyone clearly had strong opinions, no doubt inherited from their parents.

A lesson from the academy came to her panicked brain: the only thing that should distract a ninja from a fight was a bigger fight.

Fine, if they wanted a battle, she would give them one.

"Ino-" She pointed her finger at the blond, "I am sick of these discussions. I challenge you to a duel- a proper one."

Please, please, please she thought. Just accept. Just move us out of the restaurant.

As though reading her thoughts, Ino's eyes narrowed and she stood up, cracking her knuckles.

"Oh you are on, Sakura." Sakura sighed internally. Kiba cheered. Shikamaru groaned.

"Outside, girls." Asuma seemed amused by this development as he pushed away from the table. "We don't want to break any more tables."

A/N: Politics. All the politics and world building you could hope, but slightly more interesting in debate form? As always, thank you for all the reviews, favs, and follows! Hope you have a great day!


	11. Chapter 11

XVI.

There was nothing a genin loved more than a school yard brawl.

It had all the perfect elements of a fight: you knew both contenders intimately, you had strong preferences on who should win and a dozen reasons why the other should lose, you could analyze the fighting styles of ninja who may become your team mates. Best of all, no one would die.

Usually.

All this flashed through Sakura's brain as she stiffly strode out to the yard behind the restaurant followed by the excited gaggle of students and teachers. Ino felt the excitement too, bouncing as she shrugged her shoulders to loosen up. Naruto's cheers echoing off the buildings and attracting a larger crowd than just the Rookie 9.

"Kick her ass, Sakura-chan!"

"Ino, you've got this!"

"Hn."

"You can do it!"

Maybe this was a bit intense of a distraction, she thought.

Nah.

Ino deserved a good punch to the face. Plus, this would prove to everyone her eternal status as best Kunoichi in their grade. Honestly, why hadn't she thought to challenge Ino to a spar earlier?

Forty five seconds later, dodging a punch and trying to take a deep breath through the stitch in her sides, she had her answer. Fighting. Was. Hard.

Oh, it started off easily enough- Sakura went for a standard punch, Ino avoided it with an Academy approved block and tried to sweep her legs, Sakura jumped over her leg and went for a round house to the head. But in the circle made of curious teams, ninja and civilians, there was nowhere to retreat- nowhere to hide and catch her breath or plan out an attack or use her weapons.

The only consolation was that Ino was soon struggling as much as Sakura. Her face was red. Her breath labored. Her kicks becoming sloppier and easier to block. But she had the glint in her eyes that promised she wouldn't give up. Not with everyone watching.

Ok- Sakura thought as she stumbled back from a kick, she needed to think. She needed-

Ugh, she needed to get her stupid hair out of her face. Every time she spun or turned her head, the pink mass swung around, throwing off her balance and smacking her in the face. Why didn't she have a stupid hair tie?

Ino's fist came out of nowhere and smacked her hard on the jaw- it would have broken her nose, but she twisted at the last moment. Falling, she lashed out and snagged the bib of Ino's top. Her momentum and a sudden pull, toppling Ino down with her.

The ground was comfortable, Sakura thought, she could just stay on the ground for a bit longer. No, she really needed to get up. Punch Ino. Ino was so close- she could just reach out and-

"And that's a tie." The figure of Asuma replaced the blue of the sky.

What? Sakura wanted to protest, a tie? Hadn't she won?

"Rematch next week?" Asuma asked and Sakura knew it wasn't really a question. There would be a rematch next week and the week after and the week after because Asuma looked all cool and laid back but he was really a sadist. A horrible, cigarette smoking sadist. And kami her face hurt.

But she couldn't say no. Because that would mean Ino won. Ino wasn't allowed to win. So she wheezed in agreement. Then Naruto blocked her field of vision.

"Sakura- Sakura- are you ok? Are you hurt?" He helped her into a sitting position. Across from her, choji was helping Ino to her feet while Shikamaru hovered in muted concern. Ino's top was torn. Scratches reddened her cheek and she was limping from the kick Sakura had landed on her thigh. She smiled and then winced as the bruise on her jaw protested any movement.

"Teme- damnit, get over here and make her better."

"Tch." Sasuke was at her side, med pack in his hands but she waved him off.

"Help-" It hurt to take a full breath, "Help me up." Naruto complied. Once she was on her feet, she shrugged off his supportive arm, stumbled towards Ino, and held out two fingers. Ino looked up- face smudged and hair in disarray- and smiled. She clasped fingers with Sakura in the symbol of harmony post fight.

"Next week you're going down." Sakura muttered.

"You wish." Ino laughed, and then winced, "Uh- meet at practice yard 12 in two days?"

Sakura thought about her schedule. "Three days. At 7?"

Ino nodded in ascent and let her team help her back to the restaurant. The crowd slowly dissipated, their taste for violence satisfied.

"Eh, Sakura-"

"I'm fine." She waved Naruto away. She would just go home and sleep. Forever. It would feel nice. Instead of listening, Naruto grabbed her shoulders and manhandled her into a sitting position on the ground.

"Nope- you're letting Sasuke look at that-" Sasuke was crouching next to her, anti-bacterial wipe in hand. He wasn't gentle as he cleaned the dirt out of the scrapes and bruises. To distract herself, she turned to Naruto.

"So how did it look?"

"You guys were really fast!" Naruto exclaimed, "It was really-"

"Pathetic." Sasuke snapped.

"Hey- Teme- don't say that about Sakura-"

"It was pathetic." Sasuke repeated with greater emphasis. "Your footwork was sloppy. Your punches were weak. You were thinking more than acting and couldn't block what were telegraphed and obvious attacks. If Ino wasn't your friend, you'd be dead."

Sakura blinked in surprise. There was real, tangible emotion in Sasuke's voice. She had grown adept at reading the Sasuke's subtle emotional tells, but his voice had always remained flat and cold. Now though, there was a ragged edge to the words. A sharpness of more than contempt.

"Teme- Sakura tried-"

Sasuke's foot lashed out and Naruto went flying across the yard, tumbling a few times in the dirt. He turned to Sakura who was staring at him with wide eyes from the ground.

"Do you see? The balance, the muscles relaxed?" Sasuke demonstrated again, pivoting on a foot and lashing out with his leg. "You're leaning too far back and your balance is off. Your mind is focused on not falling, not following through. Get up."

Sasuke hauled her up and grabbed her ankle, forcing her leg up into the normal position. "You see? Your balance is all off- Naruto get over here- kick him-"

"I don't want to kick Naruto!" Sakura protested.

"Then make a clone!" Sasuke barked. He dropped Sakura's leg and whirled on Naruto, glaring at the blond boy. Naruto, apparently suffering no ill effects from the kick, quickly doubled himself.

"Um, Sasuke, I'm kind of tired- do you think we could practice this later-"

"NO!" The hint of raggedness had grown to a raw, furious edge to his voice, "No. There is no later. There is NEVER a later. We are doing this now. You are getting it right and- and we will not wait." Sakura was reminded of Kiba's claims of Uchiha insanity. But this was Sasuke. He was intense, but he wouldn't- he was their team mate.

"Alright." Sakura said soothingly, "Alright. We'll practice. But let's go to a practice yard."

A/N: Asuma-sensei is cool. He embodies the proverb "you can bring a horse to water, but you can't make it drink." I don't think he would be big on teaching Team 10 unless they were interested in learning. But he can be quite sneaky (like how he tested Shikamaru's IQ) so I think he would see this rivalry between Ino and Sakura and decide that Sakura is the perfect way to force Ino to study. Or train.

Also, I can't figure out a way to make this explicit: but we are really close to the anniversary of the Uchiha massacre, which is why Sasuke is a little (just a little) more sensitive about everything.

Hope you are enjoying the story! Send me a review if you are enjoying this!


	12. Chapter 12

XV

It was dark before Sasuke let them stop.

By that point, even Naruto's boundless energy had proven limited. Sakura was little more than a puddle of exhaustion remaining on her feet by some untold miracle. She had never worked this hard before. Not in her rivalry. Not at the academy. Not on their D-rank missions. Never.

Every time she was ready to keel over and fall asleep right there in the practice yard, Sasuke was at her side demanding that she kick again, punch one more time, block this attack. He was a demon. Fierce, snarling, driven by some force that Sakura gave up trying to understand. His breath was just as ragged. His limbs were shaking just as badly. He was peppered with the bruises from when Naruto, and sometimes Sakura, managed to land a hit.

But his eyes remained wide and shoulders tight. As the sun slowly set behind the mountains, he seemed to become even more driven, even more demanding of both himself and them. Until-

"Done. I'm done." Naruto collapsed to his knees, chest heaving and breath ragged.

"Get up. We're not-"

"No, Sasuke." Sakura wanted nothing more than to collapse on the ground next to Naruto, but she knew if she sat down she wouldn't get back up. "We're going to get hurt if we practice any more."

"But-"

"Tomorrow." She promised. Everything seemed very clear and very distant. The exhaustion forcing exactness from her limbs, her thoughts. Sasuke had pushed her into a deeper level of endurance than she had ever seen before.

When she saw Sasuke hesitate, "I promise. You know I keep my promises." Every time Naruto asked for a date and she had put it off until tomorrow, she kept her promise. Sasuke had to have noticed.

He must have, because after a second he nodded. His shoulders relaxed and he actually reached down to pull Naruto to his feet. Naruto, impossibly, seemed to be able to stand without assistance already. Some of the unstoppable spark returning to his eyes.

"Well, I'm starving. Do you think-"

"Home." Sakura's voice seemed to come to her from a long way away. "I want to go home. There is my bed. And my shower. And-" Actually, that was all she wanted. Her bed. Soft comforter. Softer pillows. She could sleep for 12 hours. Maybe longer. They didn't really need to go on a mission tomorrow. Her bank account was full.

When Sasuke grabbed her wrist and Naruto's collar, she didn't protest. When he began tugging them towards the city with the same, desperate intensity that he had trained them, she didn't question it. Her brain didn't even have the energy to be confused. Or pleased. Or anything but numbly aware that she probably couldn't break their grip and outrun him right now.

"But- Teme- dinner- ramen! I'm starving!" Naruto protested as they passed by his favorite ramen stand. But he was too tired to do more than protest, allowing himself to be dragged further up the road.

"I think my mom has some instant ramen," Sakura told him. "She likes easy to prepare meals when she gets back home." That seemed to placate him.

When they arrived outside her house, it seemed rude not to invite them in. When they were standing awkwardly in the living room, it seemed rude not to follow up on her mention of Ramen. When Naruto fell asleep at the kitchen table, it seemed rude not to offer to make them up a bed in the living room. After all, it was something of a Haruno tradition at this point. Both her father and mother's teams had spent plenty of nights on the pull out couch after a long mission away or night of drinking.

"Ok. You-" She waved at the unfolded mattress as Sasuke dragged Naruto from the table, "Here. Tomorrow. Yes." She was too tired to make any more sense of her words- eyelids heavy and feet dragging. She would take a shower in the morning. She needed to do laundry soon anyways, so she could just risk getting her sheets and pajamas dirty with-

"Hey!" Sasuke had grabbed her wrist again and was tugging her back to the living room. However, the food and the home had restored Sakura to some of her senses. She broke out of his grip and shoved him away when he tried to grab her again-

"Words, Sasuke. You have them." He glowered at her and she shook her head, "Glares are not words. We're humans. Teammates. You can't just drag us around. Like we're… dolls." It took her brain a moment to muster the proper term.

He hesitated, still glaring like he was trying to burn a hole through her left shoulder, but finally shoved his hands in his pockets and muttered, "Don't want you out of sight."

If she had had the energy, she would have squealed in delight. It was as close to a romantic confession as she had ever heard. Much better than anything Ino had ever gotten. If she had had the energy she probably would have asked him on a date or fainted or something- but she didn't.

Instead, the only image that came to mind was Aunt Yoko. Aunt Yoko who, after any ANBU assignment, remained tense and restless as a frightened cat. Who would pace around the kitchen while her father and Toru were making dinner, touching each of them on the shoulder with each pass. Gently, not enough to hurt, just enough to make sure they were right there. Aunt Yoko who wouldn't let her go to her room to do homework without getting nervous and muttering, until her father kindly asked if she couldn't bring her math homework down stairs and do it at the table.

With that realization came a rush of energy. Sakura dropped her hands and smiled at Sasuke.

"Ok." He seemed to relax, "I'm going to go into my room and close my door to change into my pajamas. It won't take more than three minutes. After that, I need to brush my teeth. Then we can go downstairs. Ok?" She waited until he nodded minutely. Her father always narrated each of his actions when Aunt Yoko was home, always waited until she acknowledged him. Sakura used to think it was creepy and weird, but now she understood. Sort of.

Two and a half minutes later, she was in her sleepwear. Two minutes after that her mouth felt clean again and they were down stairs. When Sasuke saw Naruto, his shoulders relaxed further and it seemed like he could take a full breath again. Sakura pulled a blanket from the easy chair and wrapped it around her shoulders as she watched Sasuke pace around the rooms.

"Our house has the deluxe protection." She told him. Seals on the windows and doors. Traps in the back yard. Unless you knew where they were, you were in for a nasty surprise if you tried to break in.

"Not helpful against ANBU. They know all the variations" Sasuke muttered, but he took a seat across from her. "You should get some sleep."

"So should you."

They stared at each other. The silence punctuated only by Naruto's light snores. Finally, Sakura had to ask. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"We're your team mates Sasuke."

"I know."

"If you don't want to talk about whatever caused this," She waved a hand to indicate the three of them in this room, "That's fine. But we need to know if there's a trigger." Like the sight of red flowers for Aunt Yoko. And her mother still couldn't be in the same room as the smell of fried chilies without breaking into a sweat. Her father would start shaking if she ever dropped a pot while cooking with him. Little things, that they learned to avoid in daily life.

Sasuke was silent for a moment, "Tomorrow." He said, so quietly Sakura could barely make out the words. It took a moment for her brain to put together the facts. The 6th day of the rabbit moon. Usually a nice day, good weather, the memorial of-

Oh.

Oh that made sense.

"He was my brother." Sasuke admitted as the silence between them stretched. "Not some insane, rouge Ninja. And my mother wasn't mad." He bit out the words like a bark. Sakura winced and wished she had ended the conversation at lunch earlier, before Kiba could let any more stupidity out of his mouth.

"What… what was she like?" Sakura asked after a second. "You said she was a good cook?"

"The best." Sasuke corrected then fell silent. When he spoke again, his voice was tight and Sakura was glad for the darkness. "She was kind. And gentle. Everyone thought father ran the clan, but we wouldn't have been a clan except for her. She took care of everyone. And He was so much like her and then- I don't get it. I don't get how he could have- or why he left me- and every year I think he's going to come back. Finish off the clan. And-"

"Eh- Sasuke, we won't let anything happen to you." Sakura jumped as Naruto's voice echoed through the dark. The blond boy sat up and his face was more serious than Sakura had ever seen it.

"I'm not worried about me- dobe!" Sasuke hissed. And suddenly the last mysteries of Sasuke's behavior clicked into place. His tension the past few days. How closely he had been following them. How he needed them in the same room. This wasn't remnants of trauma this was genuine fear.

"Ok, this is nice." Sakura said suddenly. Both boys stared at her incredulously, "I mean. My mum has been on an extended mission for the past month and my dad has had to spend time with Aunt Yoko, so it's been lonely coming back here. We should have another sleep over tomorrow night!"

Surprisingly it was Naruto who picked up the unsubtle subject change first, "Yeah! This is nice. Way better than my bed. And Sasuke can cook for us tomorrow night- so no running away Dobe."

"Tch." Sasuke muttered, but he seemed to relax as Sakura and Naruto bantered about dinner plans and training ideas for the future until sleep claimed them all.

A/N: Ok. I have one more chapter to finish up what I am calling the training arc. Then it will be time for a little plot! What? Plot? In this story? I know, I can hardly believe it myself. But I'm curious what this team will do on the Mission to Wave Country. As always, your reviews give me the strength and will to continue! Let me know what works for you, what doesn't work, or what you would like to see more of! Have a great day!


	13. Chapter 13

Three days later, Sakura met up with Ino at the fifth training ground. It was a nice one- small, but heavily wooded. Targets had been carved into the trees at various impossible angles and straw mannequins hung or were propped around the training ground.

Ino was sitting on a boulder looking glum when Sakura jogged up to her, limping a little from early morning training with her team. It had been intense. Sasuke kept pushing them to strike faster, last longer, hit harder- though he wasn't as driven as that first night.

Unsurprisingly, Sakura's weak point was her stamina, though she noticed an appreciable increase in power from the subtle tweaks Sasuke made to her form. Another benefit growing up in a clan. Naruto needed nothing in stamina and everything in technique. He was still wont to go charging in, fist cocked to deliver a punch. Avoiding him was easy. Avoiding him the twenty seventh time was less so. Sakura guessed he could always just out last his opponents.

When the shadows finally began to lengthen, she had begged off more training. Her teammates had taken some convincing that no, she didn't need an escort to meet with Ino. No, she didn't need more training partners. Yes, she was going to be quite safe. Yes, she was sure. And fine, Naruto could buy her a bowl of pork ramen if he and Sasuke were going there after training some more. She'd meet them back at her house no later than 7.

"Hey Pig!" She greeted her friend as she hopped up on the boulder to sit next to her. "Why the long face?"

"Hey-" Ino sighed and stretched in the afternoon sun. "Is Sasuke ok?"

"What?" Sakura immediately tensed at the mention of her team mate. Ever since his confession, Sakura had found herself overbearingly protective of the dark haired ninja. Ino misinterpreted the tight tone.

"Don't worry. I'm not interested. Shino made the pointlessness of that crush quite clear." She muttered bitterly. "Just, I could tell he was freaking out during that lunch and wanted to make sure Kiba didn't upset him too much."

Only Ino would describe the slow stiffening of Sasuke's spine as freaking out, Sakura thought fondly.

"He's doing better." She admitted, "It was the memorial a few days ago."

"Yeah. I thought about going but…" Ino shrugged her shoulder, "Thought he might not want to see me."

"It's alright," Sakura assured her, "There wasn't a big crowd." That was an understatement. No one had shown up to the stone memorial but her team. They had dressed in black and watched as Sasuke laid down the flowers and lit the incense in memory of his lost family. Sakura, who had never dared attend before, had been surprised by the lack of support. Yes, it was 7 years ago, but on the anniversary of the attack of the Nine Tails, the entire town went into mourning and that was 13 years ago.

"Well, that's not surprising," Ino said, then, seeing Sakura's questioning look, "The Uchiha's weren't popular. Powerful. But not popular."

"But they were one of the founding clans of Konoha." Sakura protested.

"Yeah, but-" Ino sighed and ran a hand through her ponytail, "Ugh. You're so smart that I forget you aren't a clan kid. Um… let's put it this way- how long do you think it takes to develop a new jutsu. Not just a variation on an existing one, but one totally new?"

"Um…" Sakura frowned. Jutsu creation had been mentioned in the Academy, mostly in relation to the Hokages who created new Jutsu and were world renowned for such prowess. There were a few scrolls in the library, but they were mostly unreadable.

"Forever." Ino answered for her, "Maybe- if you're really, really lucky- you'll create one. But that requires huge reserves of stamina, insane chakra control, and a really, really dedicated study of how jutsu's work and evolve. So when my ancestor, Inomi Yamanaka, created the Mind Body Switch Jutsu, it was a big deal. She spent her whole life developing it.

"Now, imagine, if after all that work, all that development, all that promise of fame and protection for your clan, someone could walk up, take one look at what you are doing, and then copy it perfectly." Ino shrugged, "So yeah, the Uchiha's were powerful because of their sharingan, but there was always a fear that they were going to steal all the lesser clan's techniques."

"Huh. I hadn't thought of it like that," Sakura admitted.

"It's not widely admitted. Everyone likes to be 'Oh, so sad, look what happened to the Uchiha,' But there's a lot of people who think they had it coming." Sakura winced thinking about Kiba's comments and Sasuke's reaction.

"But!" Ino jumped up and stretched, cracking her back, "Shall we get to training? Asuma-sensei is going to hold me to that promise of a weekly battle and I'd like to not embarrass myself this time."

Sakura agreed, but as she stood up, a sharp line of pain ran down her leg from where she pulled it trying to knife kick through Naruto's block. Maybe more training isn't what she needed. She caught sight of the straw mannequin swinging in the breeze and an idea popped into her head.

"Hey- what if we practice our accuracy?" She suggested. Ino gave a sigh of relief.

"Yeah. Absolutely. I'm still sore from our fight. 10 attempts from 2 meters, then back up?" It was a standard academy warm up practice and Sakura agreed happily.

Twenty minutes later, they had moved onto running throws, trying to hit the center of the target while sprinting pass. Neither of them were very good at this practice and were more likely to miss the target entirely or send it swinging from a blow to the side.

"Hmmm. Not bad, but you are still throwing like you are standing still."

Ino and Sakura looked up sharply to see a brown haired girl crouching on a branch above them. She was dressed in a pink blouse and had her hair up in two buns.

"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed, "You're Tenten! You were the highest scoring Kunoichi in the year above us." Sakura had made it a point when enrolling into the Academy to research the specialties of all the previous top Kunoichis. Ino rolled her eyes and muttered 'nerds' under her breath, but Tenten just laughed and jumped out of the tree.

"Right in one. Though that means you must be Sakura-chan. You managed to beat my overall score by three points, right?"

Sakura blushed at the praise, "Yeah, but you still had more points in mathematics. I just read a lot more history books."

"You said we weren't throwing correctly?" Ino cut in before Tenten could respond, clearly uninterested in rehashing test scores. Ino had been a very capable kunoichi, but her strengths had been in weapons and taijutsu rather than the academics. There, Sakura privately thought, she preferred to coast on what she picked up through conversation with her father and the other T&I professionals of her clan. It gave her a very skewed look of history and ethics.

"Yeah, you're extending your arms too late and not correcting for your forward momentum. Here let me show you." Tenten pulled a storage scroll out of her pouch and, with a puff of smoke, five shuriken were in her hand. Starting from their starting line, she flashed past.

The first think Sakura noticed was that Tenten was much faster than either she or Ino. The second thing she noticed was that all five shuriken had hit dead center of the target.

"Whoa…" Ino breathed. Sakura had to agree. That was impressive accuracy. Tenten laughed and twitched her fingers- the Shuriken came flying back to her hand and she demonstrated how to properly throw when you were in motion.

Three tries later, under Tenten's coaching, they had both managed to land a shuriken within the edges of the target. Ino cheered and Sakura smiled even though her muscles were beginning to feel like jelly again.

"You're a really good teacher," She told Tenten. The older girl laughed.

"Thanks. I've had a lot of practice. A lot of practice," She repeated with a faraway expression, but then she shook herself and glanced over to where the younger girls were staring at her, "Gai-sensei is a big fan of training one skill to perfection," she explained.

"Doesn't that make you sort of unrounded as a ninja?" Ino demanded.

"It does," Tenten agreed "Which is why once I am a Chuunin, I plan to apprentice myself to someone not proficient with weapons. But for the time being it's a useful skill and meshes well with my team mates." Then seeing their confused looks, "You know, for your team specialty?"

"Team specialty?" Sakura questioned. She hadn't thought of it before.

"Yeah. Look, until you reach S-rank level, it's pretty rare for you to be sent out on a mission by yourself. You're going to have to choose a specialty. Then you're put in teams where your specialty meshes well with your team mates for a particular purpose. Like Ino-shika-cho," She explained looking towards Ino, "specializes in various intelligence gathering. The Akimichi's incapacitate the target, the Nara's secure the target, and the Yamanaka extracts information, right?" Ino nodded, frowning.

"And this year's Team 8 is proficient in hunting and tracking," Tenten continued, warming to her theme, "Which makes sense considering how good the Inuzakas and Abrumes are at tracking. The Hyuuga's eyesight is just an added bonus. Plus, they are all heirs."

"What does that matter?"

"Hunting and tracking doesn't have as high a mortality rate compared to other specialties." Tenten shrugged, "It's a safe way for the heirs of famous clans to become trained without undue worry about being killed as front line brawlers."

"What is your team specialty?" Ino asked, while Sakura thought about the same question applied to her team.

"Front line brawlers," Tenten smirked, "What else do you expect with two unaffiliated shinobi and a branch member Hyuuga? But we're pretty good. Neji specializes in close range, Lee is close to mid range, and I'm mid to long. We have our bases covered. Now, I've got five minutes before I'm going to start training and ask you guys to clear out. So why don't you try to hit the target again and see if anything sunk in."

As they were leaving, Sakura turned to Tenten, "Would you be willing to come and teach my team how to throw things or how to seal?" She asked, glancing at Tenten's scrolls. They all learned how to work the basic sealing scrolls at the academy, but she could see that Tenten's scrolls were unique. Different seals and way more carrying capacity.

Tenten considered it. "Maybe... I'm happy to help Kunoichi, like you guys, because there aren't enough of us in the field as is, but to help a team you'd need to be willing to teach me something of equal or greater value."

"Um…" Sakura frantically thought through her skills. Tenten knew all the Academy jutsu's and Sakura didn't know any special ones.

"If you think of something, let me know. Team Gai meets here every morning around 4:30." Tenten gave them a wave and disappeared into the trees.

Sakura walked home with more questions than before. In the past month, she had managed to find her place on the team, but what was her team's place in Konoha? Did they have some specialized set of skills like Team 8 or Team 10?

The next day, when Kakashi met up with them to collect their mission, another babysitting job, she pulled him.

"Kakashi-sensei, do we have a specialty?" Naruto and Sasuke were walking ahead and bickering about how repetitious the D-rank missions were.

"What do you mean, Sakura-chan?" her teacher didn't look up from his perverted book.

"Well, like Team 8 is great at hunting and tracking while Team 10 is for espionage, so what is Team 7 for?"

"Hmmm…" Kakashi glanced up to cast an eye over the two boys in front of them, "Heavy hitters on the battlefield, probably." Sakura's stomach dropped to her toes.

"But that's not fair!" She blurted out. Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow. "I mean, I'm not a heavy hitter. I don't have enough chakra." Really though Tenten's casual words about where else would they put unaffiliated ninja's came echoing back. If the city was willing to protect the Hyuuga heir, shouldn't they do the same with the last, surviving Uchiha? Not put him out in the front lines? And Naruto was way more than some random ninja.

"I suppose I was intended to suggest you look into becoming a medic after you became a Chuunin, considering your intelligence and chakra control," Kakashi mused, "Then with Naruto's stamina and Sasuke's eventual Sharingan, you three would be quite formidable."

"But Sasuke's our medic!" It was true. The med kit was more often seen in Sasuke's hands than a kunai and he had begun to read the medic scrolls her father had around the house when they hung out in the evenings. "And Naruto's a lot more than his stamina!" What did that even mean?

"Eh? What am I?" Attracted to the sound of his name, Naruto glanced back at them, eyes bright with curiosity.

Kakashi ignored him, turning to watch Sakura. "What would you suggest we are then, Sakura-chan?" he asked with deceptive mildness.

"Sabotage." The word was out of her mouth before she had a chance to think about it fully. Kakashi raised his eyebrow to indicate she should continue.

"Oh?"

"Well. Naruto has a lot of experience with pranks, right? He knows how to identify and exploit the weaknesses of systems. And I know a lot about the world- and can learn quickly- so I could help him find the weak points and-" That didn't seem like enough, so she cast her mind over to what other skills she could learn, "And I could learn a genjutsu to help hide us. Or disguise us."

"And Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

"We'll need protection," Sakura admitted thinking of Choji's supposed role in the Ino-shika-cho combination. "And he knows the most about the ninja arts than any of us." Sasuke looked a little pleased at that last remark.

"Interesting." Was all Kakashi said and then ushered them into the mission building.

A/N: Hey guys- this is the last scene I had planned for the Training-arc. I'm going to take a while to plan out and get started on the next set of chapters for the Mission in Wave Country. As always, let me know what works for you, what doesn't work, and what you would like to see more of in a review! Have a great day and thanks for your support thus far!

Update 10/10- fixed the Hyuuga mistakes. If any one else sees issues with the Japanese, please let me know!


	14. Chapter 14- Wave Arc Begins

"Ugh. If Gramps sends us out on another d-rank mission, I'm going to quit. Believe it." Naruto groused as Team 7 walked towards the mission office. They were all rather sweaty and scruffy from their morning sparring session. Sasuke had insisted that they practice their Taijitsu at least as often as Sakura educated them on all the diverse subjects of a paper ninja. It meant Sakura went to bed sore and aching most nights, but she couldn't deny that her stamina was beginning to increase.

"Really, dobe. Quit?"

"Yeah- how am I supposed to become a super powerful hokage if all I'm known for is babysitting brats and weeding gardens? We should be hunting down criminals and- and- why are you so happy Sakura-chan?"

It was true that Sakura was grinning. But she shook her head when Naruto asked if she liked D-rank missions now.

"Nope!" She chirped, "Boring as hell." Naruto was rubbing off on her; she was beginning to swear out loud rather than as Inner Sakura.

"I don't get it." Naruto mock-whispered to his other teammate.

"Dobe, her mother's returning."

"Ohh! That's right!" Naruto brightened like it was his mum coming home, "She's been gone for ages! How long now?"

"67 days," Sakura replied promptly. Not that she was keeping track or anything. "Almost 5 times longer than she should have been deployed."

"Yeah! Because she kept finding all those rumors about kids who had been stolen- ow!" He complained as Sakura thumped him on the head.

"Naruto-" she scolded, "If you're just going to blab anything classified, I'm not going to tell you any more secrets."

"That was classified? What? I thought it was just cool news! You're mom's like a hero!"

"She told you it was classified." Sasuke rolled his eyes as he held open the mission door for them. Kakashi gave him an amused look as he slunk in behind them, nose in his book.

Naruto had proven to be fascinated by everything to do with parents. During their late night conversations at Sakura's house, he had asked dozens of questions about everything from chores to family traditions. Sakura, never one to shy from bragging about her parent's work, had talked about her mother's work, then current mission, then why that mission had been extended- from what she understood of the brief messages she received from her mother.

"Ohhh, right." Naruto pulled an apologetic face as he led them up to the mission room. "Hey- hey Sakura-chan, does that mean we'll have to move out now?" Ever since the disastrous Rookie Reunion Lunch, Sasuke and Naruto had been staying over on her parent's pull out couch in the living room. It had been exhausting- Sakura barely had a chance to relax into reading between Naruto's conversation and Sasuke presence. But it had also been strangely nice. Sakura was an only child and when she saw the families full of siblings and close cousins, she had been jealous. Her family had been so quiet by comparison.

"Well…" Sakura paused in front of the mission room when the Chuunin guard held up his hand. "Maybe soon?" Honestly, she had hoped Sasuke at least would have picked up the hint that they should leave before her mom returned, but he had remained startling obtuse about the, admittedly, subtle hints.

"Awww.." Naruto slumped against the wall. "It was a lot of fun having a sleepover. And your house is way nicer than my apartment." If Sakura thought her house was lonely when one or both parents were on a mission, she couldn't imagine how bad it would have been to grow up without anyone to meet you at home. Or, she amended glancing over at her expressionless team mate, how it was to only have memories of how it was.

She was prevented from folding and allowing them to stay as long as they wanted, but the door opening and Team 8 trooping out. This was the first time the two teams had met since the lunch and Sakura bristled at the sight of Kiba, stepping slightly in front of Sasuke as if to shield him. For his part, Kiba blanched when he saw them, shoulder slumping slightly.

"Kakashi," Kurenai greeted their teacher, then turned to her team, "Kiba, I believe you had something you wanted to say?"

Kiba very much looked as though he wanted to learn a douton-jutsu and disappear into the earth, but he took a shuffling step forward. Akamaru hid behind his legs, with a drooping tail.

"Yeah, about that lunch-"

"That's enough." Naruto growled, stepping up to the boy, "You should watch what stupid comes out of your mouth."

Kiba looked relieved to be distracted from his point, "Big words from the dead last-"

"Why you flea-"

"Kiba." Hinata's voice cut across the brewing argument, firmer than Sakura had ever heard it. "You were going to apologize."

"Yeah- yeah-" Kiba scooped Akamaru up and scratched behind his ears, "Sorry for saying that stuff about your family, Sasuke. It was dumb. And rude. And, man, you should have seen Hinata afterwards! She tore me a new one! I didn't think she could get that worked up about anyone but Na-"

"We are very sorry." Shino cut in as Hinata went first deathly white and then bright red. "Social interactions are still our team's weakest point. Why? Many reasons. Will you accept our apologies?"

Sakura glanced behind her at Sasuke whose expression, even to her, was unreadable. Finally after a moment, he shrugged. "Whatever."

That was probably the best they were going to get and Kurenai knew it.

"Well, it was fortunate we were able to run into you," She said, "Perhaps we can meet for lunch again. Last time was very instructive."

Sakura was torn over her protectiveness of Sasuke and the social conditioning that meant accepting any apology offered. Finally politeness won out. "That would be nice," She agreed after a moment of awkward silence. Kurenai accepted her answer and herded her team down the hall. After a moment, Sakura realized Kakashi was watching them.

"What?" she asked.

"You guys get into such interesting adventures without me."

"You could always show up," she reminded him.

"I could," He mused, "but there are so many old ladies to help cross the street." He shook his head sorrowfully as though the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. Sakura rolled her eyes and followed her team into the Mission room.

0X0X0X0X0

"Absolutely not." Naruto X-ed his arms and shook his head in firm refusal. The Hokage raised his eyebrows.

"Oh? I thought you didn't want any more D-rank missions."

"I don't!" Naruto agreed just as firmly.

"But when I give you a C-rank mission you refuse?" He asked. Naruto nodded.

"We can't do that one."

"And why is that?"

Sakura was astounded, once again, at how much patience the Hokage extended towards Naruto. If any other genin tried to get away with calling the most prestigious ninja in the village gramps or talking back to him like this, Sakura didn't want to know what would happen. But the Hokage just seemed delighted by the conversations.

"Sakura's mum is coming back today. We can't leave on a mission."

"Naruto-" Kakshi's voice was cool.

"Nope! She's been gone for 67 days and Sakura's missed her lots and-"

"Naruto, it's fine." Sakura was amazed at how steady her voice was. When the Hokage had offered them a c-rank mission, she had been elated, until she found out that they were expected to leave that afternoon.

"But Sakura-" The look he gave her was tragic, but she forced a smile on her face.

"We're ninja, Naruto. Our duty to the village comes first," Even if it meant shepherding drunk old bridge builders around the country. "My mum will understand."

"But-"

"Thank you, Hokage." She bowed to the older man, "We are happy to accept this mission."

0X0X0X0

Naruto had been so devastated on her behalf, that it wasn't until she was back in her room, packing up a travel case, Sakura felt any of the disappointment. It was like a sucker punch to the stomach. Disappointment. Sorrow. Even if her mission only lasted the two weeks it was supposed to, who knew if her mother would still be here when she returned. She could be sent on another mission or her father could be or-

Sakura sighed and focused on folding her sleeping clothes into neat rolls that wouldn't wrinkle with travel. She was a ninja. Her mother was a ninja. This was part of the ninja life. Sometimes months would be spent away from your family with only your team as company. Her father had understood when she called him. Her mother would understand too.

She glanced around the room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

Medpack- check.

Extra weapons pouch- check.

Blank scrolls and pens if necessary- check.

Extra clothes- check.

A towel- check.

Book for the road? Sakura hesitated at the bookshelf. It might not seem like much weight now, but if she was forced to carry it for hundreds of miles, every pound mattered. A light one? Of poetry? Her fingers traced over the spines and then hesitated at her time travel book.

Ever since the first message, she had checked inside diligently to see if her future self had left any other messages. There had been nothing for the last two months, but she hadn't checked while Sasuke and Naruto were here.

Eh, what the heck. She pulled it out and flipped to the back page.

Her eyes widened. Her breath hitched. There was another message. But this time it wasn't an instruction.

What is a ninja?

Signed with a flower.

A/N: And back. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and favorited this fic! I appreciate all the words of encouragement and suggestions for improvement!

This is the beginning of the wave arch which will have less fluff, more plot, and possibly more philosophical considerations. This is also the arc where Sakura starts deviating from cannon tweaks and into a character that can rival the Naruto/sasuke godhood. (at least my take on it. I'll give more warnings as the story continues)

A quick discussion: I read a LOT of Naruto fanfiction. Many of the stories are so wonderful and the ideas so exquisite that I end up forgetting what is cannon and what is the work of some author's imagination. For instance, in Evil-is-a-relative-term's "Kill Your Heros," (which if you haven't read, please, go do so right now) Sakura's mother raises a messenger hawks. Evil-sama came up with this idea first and it became part of my subconscious. I only realized this about three days ago.

It's never my intention to plagiarize, so if you notice that any ideas are seeming suspiciously similar to another author, let me know via PM and I'll try to either give credit where credit is due or change the story.

Thank you very much and enjoy!


	15. Chapter 15

Sakura's POV

Genin didn't have many options when it came to missions. D-ranks, their bread and butter, were basically chores and Genin the cheap labor. Sure, they could look at the chores as training exercises, but streets needed to be plowed in the winter, weeding needed to be done in the public places, and farmers needed help at harvest time. These missions, in addition to keeping the wheels of the city turning, were designed to be completed quickly and give the young ninja plenty of time to train, socialize, and develop their team work.

C-rank missions were further subdivided into Chuunin and Genin missions. Genins could be trusted to escort traders to neighboring, allied countries, act as body guards for minor officials, and act as messengers between outposts in the fire country. These missions were to further develop teamwork but also teach the students the rudiments of long distance travel, geography, and politics. Boarder patrols, investigating local, non-shinobi disturbances, and information gathering were considered Chuunin level missions.

Sakura knew all this from her Academy training. Knew the mission wasn't going to be special, was going to be tedious, and wouldn't provide any good stories. She knew all these things and was still disappointed.

Outside of Konoha looked remarkably like the area around Konoha.

Tazuna was grumpy, drunk, and slow moving.

They hadn't run into her mother's team even though they ended up waiting an extra hour and a half for Kakashi-sensei to show up. (That last one was a long shot, but Sakura had hoped, damnit!)

In short, it was the most disappointing start to a mission ever.

"This is the best mission ever! Believe it!"

Not, of course, that that would even register with Naruto. He had been nothing but grins and high steps ever since they left the main gate. Sakura sighed fondly and adjusted her back pack more firmly on her shoulders.

"What makes it the best mission?" she asked. Conversation would be better than moping in silence. Naruto fell back from point to walk next to her.

"Because! We're on a C-rank! And leaving Konoha for the first time!"

"You've never even left your home city before?" Tazuna gave them a disgusted glance. He hadn't liked the way they looked in the mission room. Or how they waited at the gates. Or how they walked down the road. "And you call yourselves ninjas?"

"Hey!-"

Sakura put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and shook her head. They did not need to hear another rendition of how Sakura was the smartest ninja ever and Sasuke was ok and how Naruto was going to become the strongest ninja and become Hokage and be the best.

"Tazuna-san," Inner Sakura might shout and sneer, but Sakura still knew how to plaster on a polite face, "What do you think Ninja's are?"

And that, if Sakura was being very honest with herself, was the biggest reason for her bad mood. The last message she had received from her future self had been easy to fulfill. What's more, dating Naruto had been a lot of fun.

But this was a question.

A question that in school she could have answered in five minutes without a thought. A shinobi was person who served their village and could manipulate chakra. Devotion and skill were the two requirements.

But her future self knew that. Her future self expected a better answer than rote Academy responses. But for the life of her, Sakura didn't know what else to say.

"Older," was Tazuna's only answer and he took a swig from his bottle as if to prove his point.

"You want older, old man?" Naruto challenged, bringing his hands together, "I'll show you older! Sexy-"

"Don't." Sasuke cut off the blond boy. "We're on a mission."

Naruto gave an aggravated sigh, but complied. Soon enough he was asking Sakura questions about the various flora, fauna, and destination of their mission.

0X0X0X0

Three days on the road and Sakura was no longer depressed.

She was bored.

Tazuna was a civilian. An old civilian. A good pace for him was a lazy stroll for even genin. But as they were approaching the land of waves, Kakashi had forbidden even letting them scout ahead for practice and exercise. The landscape changed so slowly that even Naruto had a hard time being excited about new varieties of birds and plants. At least he was good company.

"What do I think a ninja is?" He asked, frowning as he thought around the question. Sakura nodded in encouragement. After spinning the question around in her head for three days, she was going to go crazy unless she had some outside suggestions.

"Well…" he glanced up at the sky, "It's someone who is strong right?"

"There's lots of ways to be strong, Naruto."

"Yeah, but like super strong. Like in all the ways."

"I'm not strong in Taijutsu," she pointed out, "does that mean I am not a ninja?"

Naruto looked at her like she was being dumb, "Yeah, but you're working on it."

"So?"

"As long as you keep working at it and never give up- that's what being a Ninja is!" He grinned at her.

"Naruto. That's really dumb." She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "There are hundreds of reasons why you shouldn't pursue something mindlessly!"

"No it's not! Back me up, teme. A ninja needs to be strong, right!"

"Hn." A grunt of agreement. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but why does a Ninja need to be strong?"

"For acknowledgement!"

"To win."

"That's…." Really stupid, Inner Sakura shouted. Acknowledgement? There were dozens of easier ways to gain recognition. Win? Win against what? Sakura sighed and turned back where their teacher was trailing behind them, "Kakashi-!"

The last syllable was barely out of her mouth before the wicked, barbed chain pulled tight and tore the man apart.

"One down."

0X0X0X0

Sasuke's POV

Not again.

Endless hours at the Academy. Throwing, blocking, kicking, dodging. The instructors had been happy to give private training when he asked. Eager to teach the last of the Uchiha how to throw the shuriken faster, block quicker, find the right attack forms for his height and reach.

Not ever again.

Endless hours. When the teachers had left. When the sun had set. When all that was left were the ghosts in his blood splattered home, he kept training. Read through the private Uchiha library. Ran through the hand signs for his family's fire jutsus in mindless repetition. Trained until his exhaustion rang louder than the ghosts and memories.

This wasn't allowed to happen again.

Endless hours training.

So when the tentative peace of the past two months was shattered by a spray of blood and gore (too much blood. He could smell it. Feel it. It was in his hair, under his nails and he would never be clean again. There were still rooms he couldn't enter).

So when the chain snaked towards the blond idiot (not smiling now. No shouting now. Just terror and ice-cold limbs that wouldn't move as death approached on silent feet. He knew that fear. Still felt it at night.)

So when his family was threatened again (they had collapsed together, close even in death, dark hair matted together in their own blood and organ fluids. They had always been together. He was so proud of them)

He wouldn't let it happen again.

Shuriken. To distract the chain. Kunai. To hold it. Use their momentum against them. Force them together, gauntlets a platform- a perch- the kicks landing, but not hard enough. They were moving already, rolling with the kicks. Unlocking the chain, because there was weakness in bonds, weakness to be tied together. Then there were two instead of one. Running to both of his team mates. A choice he had to make a choice-

"Sir! Get back!"

But it wasn't a choice. Sakura already was in motion, a kunai in hand, eyes clear and determined and Naruto- the idiot- eyes terror blank- limbs frozen and the claws reaching-

Endless hours of learning to block (Sparks flew when claw met kunai). Learning to shift his weight, square his hips, use their moment against them (his feet skid back from impact). Endless hours learning to create an opening (the clawed hand was shoved to the side- missing his cheek by a hairsbreath). Learning to counter attack (foot lifting, ready to strike, to collapse the windpipe, end the fight before any more blood-)-

0X0X0X0

Sakura's POV

Kakashi was dead.

Naruto was incapacitated.

Sasuke was engaged with enemy one.

Calmly, her brain catalogued each of these facts with as much dispassion as if she was working through a word problem during the Academy. If faced with two attacking enemy of unknown skills and level…

"Sir! Get Back!"

The mission objective: protect the client. As one of the enemy peeled away from the boys and headed towards her, she pulled a kunai from her pouch. Deep in her chest, her heart beat, seeming very slow and far away. Everything seemed slow and far away. She could count the leaves in the surrounding trees, identify the enemy ninja's nation and think how impractical that flowing cape would be for fighting.

The enemy raised his arm in slow motion and lessons from the academy came back clearly. When the attack comes high, block and go low.

Blocking would take so long though.

It was easier to drop below the attack, avoiding the claw which sailed over her head, and jump up. Her shoulder caught the enemy's stomach- her upward velocity redirecting his forward momentum into a spin that ended with her sprawled on top.

A twist of her body and she had the leverage to bring her kunai down under the gas mask, to the exposed throat, a follow through that was textbook as they came: end the life, protect her team, fulfill the mission.

"Sakura-" A warm hand wrapped around her upraised arm- kunai ready to deliver the final blow- "That's enough."

A/N: Guys- you have no idea how hard it was not to end on the first cliffhanger. But you have all read Naruto (I hope) and probably wouldn't be too surprised by a cannon event. Can I say how nice it is that you have all read naruto and I don't have to explain what happened or what Hokage, chakra, or any background is?

What did you think of the Sasuke POV? It was an experiment- I always see him as being more of a feeler than a thinker and tried to convey that in his internal monologue.

Thank you all so much for the warm and wonderful response to this story! I am so glad that you are enjoying it since I am having a lot of fun writing it! Have a great day!

10/29 Update: Tazuna's name changed! Thanks Kairan for pointing it out!


	16. Chapter 16

Kakashi's POV

The mission had seemed off from the onset. The suddenness of the assignment, the caginess of the client, the reports of missing children from the southern borders- Kakashi hadn't cared to single out one reason for his unease. The puddle in the middle of an otherwise parched road only confirmed it.

But he had been ANBU longer than he'd been a Jounin sensei. When the foreign ninjas rose out of the puddle, he had forgotten his team mates were genin's not ANBU. If he was being very honest, he forgot he had a team at all. The ingrained instincts of secrecy, misdirection, and silence overcame him and he switched into the underbrush without a second thought.

It was only when he glanced back and was confused at how small his team mates were that he remembered they were a genin team. His genin team pitted against two foreign chuunins. Maybe he should have handled this differently.

The gap between genin and chuunin wasn't large, as his team proved. The gap between chuunin and jounin was much greater, as he showed a moment later.

Sasuke's kick was easily overbalanced, going wide, as Kakashi jabbed the pressure points at the base of the foreign ninja's skull rendering him unconscious. Sakura, he almost didn't catch in time. Fingers wrapping around her wrist before she could make her first kill while delivering a small kick to the soft part behind her ninja's ear. Threat neutralized.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura blinked up at him slowly. Her eyes were hugely dilated- the green almost lost behind her pupils. Adrenaline, Kakashi knew, the crash would come in the next few minutes.

"Well done, Sakura-chan!" He helped (hauled, really) her to her feet, pulling her a little away from the unconscious shinobi on the road. Her kunai was still in her white knuckled fist, her movements a little jerky from shock.

"Kakashi- why- I could have-" The shaking began. The shock would be bad. No matter how the jounin's adjusted the Academy curriculum, nothing prepared a genin for their first, real fight. At least they had been on a mission. At least they hadn't been at war.

Kakashi blinked the memory away- "Go check on your team, Sakura-chan." He gave her a little push towards the boys with his free hand. "I'll take care of these guys."

0X0X0X0X0

Sakura's POV

Yes. Team. She had a team.

The road rolled under her and the scenery shifted as she took a step forward- slightly out of sync with her thoughts as if her mind was running a fraction faster than reality. There were twenty seven rocks on the road between her and her team. The drop of blood sliding down Naruto's cheek was the exact shade of tulips that bloomed in the spring around the Academy. Tulips that-

Team. Right.

Why did her team look so scared? Naruto was frozen. Blue eyes wide and uncomprehending as they slid from the severed tree branch, to Sasuke, then back to the blocks of wood in the road. His gazed fixed on her as she approached- hope blooming in his bewilderment.

"Sakura! Wha-"

"The threat has been neutralized." A tinny voice said. Sakura realized, after a second, that it was hers. "The mission objective has not been compromised."

Familiar words grounded her. How many times had they been drilled on the proper terminology of an attack? Some of the students had laughed off the formal regulations, but Sakura had memorized them with pleasure. Protocol made disaster manageable, gave form to chaos. Where there were guidelines, Sakura excelled- making lists, getting A's, and now, surviving an enemy attack.

"Naruto, we need to secure the perimeter. Send four clones out to scout please." The boy nodded quickly- hands no longer shaking as he made the signs to multiply himself. Four Naruto's crashed into the underbrush on either side and Sakura winced- then made a mental note to cover stealth with Naruto. Again.

Perimeter- check.

"Tazuna-san," She called over her shoulder to where the old man stood awkwardly at the side of the road, "Please step into the middle of the path, between Kakashi-sensei and us."

Mission objective- check.

"Sakura-"

"Sasuke, Naruto is bleeding." She nodded to the small cut in Naruto's cheek. Sasuke had gone so still that he may have been carved from ice. His face expressionless if not for the stark horror in his eyes, dark and not entirely sane.

Sakura felt a flash of annoyance- Sasuke needed to tell them what triggers he had if they were going to be a team! She shoved the anger down before it could crack the calm of her façade. She had a checklist to complete.

"These ninja's appear to be from the Hidden Mist which has a history of using poison. Please treat Naruto as though he has been poisoned."

Sasuke's eyes abruptly re-focused on Naruto's face, lips curling into a sneer, but Sakura could see his hands shake as he took the med pack from his bag. They were going to talk about this later.

Physical injuries detected and treated- check.

Mental breakdowns postponed until appropriate time- check.

Assailants restrained for removal to T&I- see Jounin instructor or Chuunin handbook page 408

Kakashi had tied the shinobi to the tree and was regarding them thoughtfully. Up close, Sakura realized how young they looked. Older than her, but not that much older. Brothers maybe from their physical appearance-

Sakura cut off that train of thought before she could humanize them any more.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hmm?" He glanced over at her, visible eyebrow raised in question. "Everything ok?"

"The perimeter is being secured by Naruto's. Naruto himself suffered a small cut to the left cheek but no other reported injuries to the team. Sasuke is treating him now," The report formula rolled off her tongue automatically, even as the look Kakashi gave her was mostly amused. She stared at the two ninja, "But why are they here?"

"Well," Kakashi scratched the back of his neck, "It seemed rude to leave them in the middle of the road."

"But-" Sakura paused as Kakashi looked at her. She couldn't remember what she had wanted to ask. The clarity of an emergency was fading, leaving her cold. Standing still suddenly seemed like too much effort. Mostly, once the calm faded, she was angry.

Angry at Kakashi for abandoning them, for stopping her kunai. Angry at the Academy for not teaching them enough to be prepared. Angry at this mission which sent them to be attacked. Furious at these ninja who had attacked her. Who had hurt Naruto. Who had terrified Sasuke. How dare they be tied up when they should be-

"Sakura," Kakashi laid a hand on her shoulder and Sakura realized she had taken a step forward, kunai raised in her fist, "What can you tell me about them?"

She stilled, still glaring at the limp figures, "Ninja from the Mist," She finally answered, staring at the forehead protectors, then at the slash through the familiar symbol, "Missing Nin. Chuunin level, probably? Adapt at Taijutsu and used to working together." As she forced herself to study the enemy, her anger slowly banked. The analytical part resurfacing.

"Very good." Kakashi said, "Now, what was their objective?"

Sakura thought about the attack pattern. "They took out you first, so you?"

"Hmmm… possibly, but unlikely. Or at least, I hope anyone sent to kill me would be a little more skilled, than to think they could catch me with that attack." Kakashi smiled. Sakura thought he sounded a little too at ease with the idea of being killed.

"No, I think we have a few more questions to ask our favorite bridge builder." He raised his voice slightly at the last few words and Tazuna flinched. "Now would be a good time to tell the full story, Tazuna-san."

The old man sighed and began to weave a tale of misery and desperation that had befallen his beloved Wave Country. As he spoke, Naruto drew closer. His cheek was bandaged and his normally happy expression turned serious, but he seemed otherwise unharmed from the encounter. When Kakashi leaned forward to ask clarifying questions, Naruto turned to her with concern.

"Eh- Sakura-chan, you're shaking!" He exclaimed. Sakura glanced down and saw that she was, indeed shaking, the anger had faded with the telling of the story, leaving only a sticky, cold fear behind. So when Naruto abruptly scooped her up into a tight hug, she was grateful for his warmth, his solidity.

"We need to go back," She wrapped her arms around him, the shaking slowing, "This is at least a B-rank mission now. Way outside of our jurisdiction. And your cheek- what if Sasuke didn't get all the poison?"

"Eh? But what about Tazuna and the Wave Village and his little grandson!" Naruto exclaimed. "We need to save them!"

No, no we don't, Sakura wanted to scream. We're genin, not heroes in some book!

"Maa, Sakura-cha, you were able to handle these ninja's just fine. I think you'll be able to manage anything else." Kakashi told her kindly.

"But-" She started to protest, but Naruto cut her off.

"Yeah! You were so cool. The ninja was like- 'voosh' and you were like 'not today!'" Naruto re-enacted the battle with one arm, keeping the other wrapped around her shoulder, "Plus! I need a chance to prove how awesome a ninja I am too!"

Sakura glanced over at Sasuke for support. Surely, he didn't think it was a good idea for a group of genin to be on a B-ranked mission. But he was turned away, lines of tension radiating down his back. No help at all. She made one last plea, a frankly emotional bid since Naruto was susceptible to those.

"I was scared," She confessed quietly, "What if you get hurt- or-"

Naruto didn't let her finish- sweeping her into a rib crushing hug which made it difficult to take a breath. "We're ninja Sakura. That's a risk we have to take."

Yeah, she wanted to protest, but it wasn't a risk she had understood before. They had talked about danger and death in the Academy, but it was always so distant. Something that happened to other people or the characters in their stories. Not real, living people. She sighed.

"Plus," Naruto continued, "We've got you to make sure that doesn't happen, right!" Sakura wasn't sure she wanted that level of responsibility, but she nodded and stepped away from Naruto. Taking a breath and rubbing her face, she considered.

"Fine," She decided. Naruto whooped and Tazuna sighed in relief, "Fine, we'll continue. But we'll do it properly this time: perimeter checks, sentries and traps at night, constant awareness." She glanced between the four of them. Naruto was nodding vigorously while Kakashi just looked generally amused. Sasuke turned from her with an irritated 'tch' and picked up his bag, but was in apparent agreement. Sakura frowned at his back. What was his problem?

0X0X0X0X0

She didn't have her answer until that night.

They had spent a tense day on the road to Wave Country. Naruto had a constant rotation of clones either scouting ahead or to the sides, but kept close to her during the walk. Sakura kept her kunai in hand the entire walk- investigating every shadow beneath a bush, every strange depression in the road. Sasuke seemed the least affected, but he was quieter than usual- which was saying something.

That night they set up an elaborate series of trips and advance warning snares, then drew lots for sentry duty. Sakura got the third shift, after Sasuke. She settled down in her sleeping bag and set her internal clock for the early morning, but she didn't sleep well. Even after Naruto began snoring gently, Sakura stayed in a restless, half sleep state- waking minutely at every night time crack of branch or gust of wind.

When Sasuke came to wake her up, she was glad- at least when she was on guard duty, she was expected to be listening for every sign of an attack. The night wasn't cold, but it was very dark. The shadows in the trees turned inky as the sliver of moon did little to illuminate the deapths of the forest.

Sasuke followed her around the perimeter of the camp as she checked the traps and looked for any sign of disturbance- making sure she knew where they were, she guessed. But when Sakura settled down on the log to wait and watch, he didn't return to his sleeping bag, but sat down next to her.

What? Didn't he think she could manage the watch by herself? Sakura smothered the irritation- acknowledging that stress made her bitchy and quick to anger. But as the minutes stretched out, the irritation faded to be replaced by curiosity. Sasuke seemed lost in thought and Sakura wondered if he was as scared to go to sleep as well. Finally, he rose and paced back to camp.

Sakura had just relaxed into the meditative state that the handbooks recommended for sentry duty, when she felt someone sit next to her on the log. Snapping her eyes open, she saw that Sasuke was back- sitting much closer than he ever had before. Close enough that she could smell the faint smoky scent.

"I was scared too." He said after another long silence. Sakura started.

"Oh," She said intelligently. What was she supposed to do with that? He wasn't Naruto- she couldn't just tell him everything would be fine. "It was our first fight. It's normal to-"

She almost yelped when Sasuke abruptly fell into her. Was he hurt? Had he been poisoned? Or attacked!

But he was breathing normally, his chakra regular- the only difference was the tension of his shoulders. Sakura was suddenly reminded of her grandmother's cats. How they would occasionally jump on her lap or the couch next to her and sit there- expecting to be petted, but unwilling to initiate.

Oh. Sakura slowly wrapped her arms around his shoulders- praying that this was the right move and Sasuke wasn't bleeding out from some stealth attack. But when he relaxed slightly, leaning into her more heavily, she knew she had made the right decision.

How many times had she fantasized about this moment, Sakura wondered. Her first hug with Sasuke. Of course, she never expected to be doing most of the work. Or to have her arm ache from the awkward angle. Or to be in the middle of a mission. Or that Sasuke's shoulder would be quite so bony and digging into her side. Oh well, another fantasy sacrificed on the altar of reality.

"He shouldn't have been hurt."

"What?"

"Naruto," Sasuke repeated with a trace of his usual impatience, "He shouldn't have been hurt. I should have blocked the attack better."

"Um," Sakura raked her memory of the fight, "I'm sure Naruto doesn't mind."

"I forgot he was behind me," Sasuke continued as if she hadn't spoken, "Only thought of deflecting the claws from me- didn't remember he was also in the line of attack."

"But if you hadn't been there, Naruto would have been-" Her arm tightened involuntarily as she thought how close their team mate had come to death, "So it was good you were there."

"But I-"

"Look," Sakura didn't have much patience at the moment for self pity- another time or place, she could have listened to Sasuke for hours. But he wasn't the only one to have faced death today, "You did the best you could. The only one who is upset with your performance is you."

"I need to be better," He muttered. Sakura sighed.

"For vengeance?" She asked, he nodded.

"I need to be stronger than Him."

"And how strong is he, exactly?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke hesitated, "Stronger than me."

"Right," She drew the syllable out slowly, "You realize that's not really a sustainable goal, right? It's just going to make you miserable, because it will be forever out of reach. You need to pick something objective, so you can measure your progress and have positive feedback when you reach it," She said, remembering the Academy instructions in training.

"Hn." He muttered.

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't have that be your goal," She backtracked quickly, worrying she had been too blunt, "But maybe break it down into smaller goals first? Otherwise you're going to beat yourself up constantly every time you think you fail and that would be exhausting."

"Hn." He was quiet for a moment, then she felt a very minute nod.

"Alright," She sighed. This was the most she had heard from Sasuke for ages, but her arm was beginning to ache from the angle and she wanted to walk the perimeter again, "Get some sleep?" Sasuke nodded again and then pulled away, stalking back to their sleeping bags. Sakura rolled out her shoulder and thought about her enigmatic team mate until the sky lightened in the morning.

A/N: Ah, Sakura. Despite my best attempts to give her a fluffy moment with Sasuke, she ruins it by overthinking.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! Your encouragement fuels my creativity. Hope you continue to enjoy the story and have a great day!

10/29 Update: Tazuna's name changed! Thanks Kairan for pointing it out!


	17. Chapter 17

Kakashi's POV

"No, Naruto," Kakashi sighed, "I'm not going to train you right now."

"But why not!" Naruto shouted. The white haired man pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Was it just him or did genin seem younger every year? When he was a genin, he would never have demanded training in the middle of a mission. Even Obito had more sense than that.

"Because training takes concentration and we need to be focused on protecting our client," Kakashi nodded to where Tazuna was trailing behind them. A few yards further down the road Sakura was walking with a pair of Naruto clones. Hmm… she looked upset at something.

"But how are we supposed to protect that old man if we can't get stronger!" Naruto demanded. Silence, Kakashi thought, silence would be a good first step.

"This is when you put the skills you already know to novel uses."

"Ok." Naruto nodded seriously and looked at him expectantly. Kakashi fought the urge to sigh again. How Naruto graduated was a mystery.

"I can't tell you what those are." He explained, "You have to think of them yourself."

"Ohh." Comprehension dawned on the boy's face, "Hey Saku-"

"Yourself, Naruto." Kakashi cut him off before he could turn to his teammate. Teamwork was all well and good, but they couldn't rely on Sakura for all the intellectual heavy lifting. "Come up with three ways to use your academy skills and then we can review them."

"Right," Naruto nodded seriously and a look of extreme concentration crossed his face as he began to debate the problem. Kakashi would leave him to it. He was curious as to what was causing their resident kunoichi such consternation. Dropping back, he shooed off the Naruto clones and fell into step with Sakura.

"Everything alright, Sakura-chan?"

She looked up with a frown creasing her brown, "It doesn't make any sense," She whispered.

"What's that?"

"Any of it," She nodded discretely to where the bridge builder was walking in front of them. The sake bottle was gone and he was glancing around his home island with as much focus as Sasuke. "Why would Gato want to create a shipping embargo on Wave Country?"

"Greed can make men do strange things," he replied. It had been a long time since he tried to understand why money motivated so many people- civilian or shinobi.

"No," She shook her head seriously, "I think this is what Asuma-sensei was trying to make us see. Gato is one of the richest men in the world, because he is a good businessman. Even if his wealth is mostly through smuggling, he would know that you can make more money through vigorous trade. Why would he care about making a tiny, poor country even more impoverished?"

"You think Tazuna is lying about the situation?" Kakashi asked. Sakura hesitated but then shook her head again after a moment.

"No. I think he really believes what he told us. But if that's the case, why is he so obsessed with building a bridge? I was reading up on sabotage tactics and bridges are one of the most popular targets for destruction. Why is Tazuna even allowing the bridge to be built? You saw how big it was- it's not like it's a secret. All he would need was a few dozen explosive tags at the right junctures and-"

Kakashi laid a hand on her shoulder and pulled them to a halt. Sasuke noticed immediately, but Kakashi shooed him ahead with a gesture. When he was sure Tazuna was out of hearing range, he bent down till they were level.

"Sakura-chan, are you familiar with the saying 'when you have a hammer, every problem is a nail?'" She nodded, eyes calculating but confused, "Tazuna-san is a bridge builder. If he were a boat maker, he would be making a fleet of smuggling ships. If he was a politician, he would be looking into diplomatic intervention. But he builds bridges. Hence there is a bridge being built."

"But that's not going to solve anything!" She hissed. Kakashi repressed the urge to sigh for the third time in as many minutes. This seemed very early on in Sakura's career to learn one of the harsher lessons of missions. Assassinations rarely led to better governance. Putting down bands of rebels never improved the economic conditions that led to rebellion. Winning the war did not create peace.

"No, it won't." And he tried to make his voice gentle, "Our mission isn't to solve this crisis. It's to escort Tazuna home and guard him while he finishes the bridge."

"But-"

"Sakura, we're shinobi, not gods."

"So that means that we just give up?" Maybe it wasn't just that the genin were getting younger, but they were more idealistic. Kakashi tried to remember if any of his graduating class had dreams of world peace and prosperity.

No one came to mind.

Obito, give me patience….

Still, his cute little student was looking so downcast, he couldn't help but add, "If you think of some way to solve this, we'll try it, ok?"

She blinked at him, not at all convinced, "Ok." He ruffled her hair slightly.

"There you go. Why don't you go relieve Sasuke from point?"

Maybe, he reflected as he watched her jog up to her team mates, things were easier when he was a genin. Their missions were dangerous, but obvious. He never worried about saving the world- he only wanted to survive that day.

0X0X0X0

Naruto's POV

Damn, it was hard to think up new moves!

Naruto frowned in concentration as he listed his known jutsu. There were the Academy jutsu: henge, body switch, shadow clone. Then his moves- Kage Bushin no jutsu, Sexy no justsu. He already had combined the last two for Harem no Jutsu, but what else could he do?

Damn-damn-damn- if he didn't think of something, then at their next battle he would freeze again and what if Sakura or that teme got hurt because he was too stupid to think of an awesome new move that would save them all! (A small, dark voice whispered back "What if they decide this time they don't want you?)

Nope. Not going to happen.

(What if you really are dead weight holding them back?)

Wasn't holding them back. He had his clones running through the woods and protecting the old man and being really useful. Plus, Sakura said he wasn't dead weight!

(Sakura's so smart. Sasuke's so strong. How can you compare to them? It's nice now, but one day they'll wake up and realize how useless you are. They'll leave you and-)

Agh! Damnit- how was he going to come up with new moves thinking like this? He needed to talk to Sakura-chan. It wasn't cheating- just brainstorming. People brainstormed- like the other students during group projects at the Academy. He had seen them, believe it!

(Not with you though)

"Hey! Sakura-chan!"

Sakura was jogging up to the front of the group, but she looked sad.

"Hey, Naruto."

Huh. She sounded sad too. That was not allowed! Naruto swung an arm around her shoulder and slowed her pace. Not enough that she couldn't get out if she didn't want to (Naruto had learned that Sakura didn't like hugs that were too tight) but enough that she couldn't just walk away. Sakura sighed and leaned into him slightly.

"What's up?"

She hesitated, forehead creasing in worry, and Naruto worried for a second that she would dismiss her concern. She did that sometimes- pretend her emotions or thoughts didn't matter. But if he asked repeatedly, she usually ended up honest

"Do you… do you think we can actually help people? By being Ninja?"

Good. She was being honest.

(As far as you can tell)

"What!" Naruto's eyebrows rose to his hairline, "What are you talking about? Of course we can!"

Sakura made a doubtful noise.

"Look at this mission!" he tried another tact, "We're going to help the old man save the country! We get to help an entire country worth of people!"

(Or you'll fail and then you'll have two countries that hate you.)

"But what if the situation is more complex than we thought."

Ah. That was what was really bothering Sakura-chan.

"Then we'll just figure it out and fix it regardless." He might not be that great at puzzles, but Sakura seemed to love them.

"You…" Green eyes studied his face, "You really think it can be that easy?" Hope beginning to color her words.

"Of course!" He agreed, "You're brilliant. Teme's pretty strong. And-"

(You're nothing. Dead wei-)

"You've got enough optimism for the both of us," Sakura concluded with a small smile. "Thanks Naruto. I forgot that just because a problem has multiple angles, doesn't mean it can't be solved!"

"Believe i-"

"Everyone get down!"

A/N: Guys, you don't know how long I was struggling with this section of plot. Zabuza's fight was so frustrating to try and re-engineer for these dynamics. The answer finally hit me last night. So, a shorter chapter today so I can re-write everything tomorrow. I guessed right in guessing that you guys don't want the entire fight rehashed and won't mind if I skip the cannon fights?

Naruto has such a sad interior monologue. It was illuminating to write.

Also, I wrote an omake for this story and posted it in my Shinobi Ficlettes. It's the fourth chapter. So if you want more Team 7 randomness, check that story for omakes and one shots. I've been inspired by pure silliness.

As always, thank you to everyone who has reviewed. You guys are an amazing community both in generosity of responses and compliments. Every review makes me grin, so thank you very much!


	18. Chapter 18

Sakura POV

Mission Objective: Protect Tazuna.

Potential of Success: less than 5%.

Enemy force: 1) Zabuza Momochi- Mist Missing-nin. Jounin level. Plans at least two steps ahead. Master of the silent kill. 2) Water clone of Zabuza Momochi- assume equal level of skill but limited range- unknown.

Possible actions:

1) Stay and engage Missing-nin. Likely result: death without Kakashi-sensei's help.

2) Take Tazuna and run. Likely result: death after Kakashi-sensei is killed.

Mission result: failure.

Secondary Objective: Leave Tazuna and run. Likely result: survival at 58% but disgrace and disqualification from shinobi world- certain. Objective denied.

Tertiary Objective: free Kakashi from water prison. Likely result: 36% with fatality of one or more members at 72%. Best possible outcome.

In order to free Kakashi from water prison, it will be necessary to distract the Mist Missing-nin. In order to distract the Mist, Missing-nin. . .

Nothing.

She had nothing.

Brilliant mind. Best of her class. Top Kunoichi. Worthless.

She had nothing.

The killing intent had shattered the adrenaline given clarity of the first fight. Watching her teacher be thrashed soundly by the enemy shinobi had killed her spirit. Only panicked, useless, analysis was left in her brain.

What good was it to know that Zabuza was the last living member of the legendary Mist swords men who had terrorized the last shinobi war? Or that his blade stole iron from the blood of its victims to re-forge itself anew? Or that chakra needed to summon an area affect like the Hidden Mist and two water clones was monstrous? She needed a plan! She needed to think. She needed to focus but all she could think about was that she was going to die and damnit there was so much left that she wanted to do! Have a family, go dress shopping with Ino, have her parents at her Chuunin exam- now all that was-

"Sakura?"

Sakura's head shot up and she saw Naruto glancing back at her with concern writ large over his face. He and Sasuke were holding positions- waiting for orders. Both tensed and ready to attack if she gave the word. What word?

"We need to free Kakashi-sensei if we want to survive. But I-" Her voice cracked, "I don't know what to do."

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! I have a plan."

Two years ago, she would have laughed at the absurdity of the statement. Two months ago, she would have smacked Naruto on the head and told him not to be stupid, that he should leave planning to the smart members, that he would get hurt otherwise. But now?

Sakura slowly straightened, strength returning to her limbs. Now, it felt like a weight was taken off her shoulders. This was Naruto- dumb, sometimes. Ridiculous, yes. But stupid? No. Just smart in a way that the Academy couldn't test. The mastermind behind dozens of pranks that fooled chuunin, Jounin, and even ANBU. If he had a plan, it might just work.

"Ok." She nodded at him, thinking furiously through the fight seconds earlier, "He plans at least two steps ahead- whatever idea you have, make sure it has three steps."

Naruto nodded seriously and brought his hands together. "KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!"

Dozens of Naruto's sprang into being from nothing.

"N-naruto." When her team mate had first told her about his unorthodox graduation, she had researched the exact limitations of the Kage Bushin no Jutsu. It was insane. The drain on chakra alone would be enough to kill a genin. Even high ranking Jounin could only manage a handful. Sure, Naruto had freakish chakra reserves- look at the way he bounced back from Sasuke's taijustsu practices- but she had thought five was his limit.

She had been wrong.

With a yell, half the clones split off and charged at the water-clone missing-nin. With a wave of his sword, the clone destroyed the onrush of Naruto's and Sakura's heart sank. The man was too powerful. Naruto wasn't a great ninja, but he was improving. If the water clone could take out that many kage bushin's they didn't stand a ch-

"Sakura!" A Naruto, maybe the real one, tugged on her shoulder and ushered her close to Sasuke. The other half of the Naruto clones formed a wall around them- some of the clones henging to take on the appearances of the other members of the team. Well. Maybe. That one had pink hair, but Sakura did not look like that. And Sasuke's nose was not freakishly long.

"Naruto, is this your-"

"A distraction." Naruto winced as another wave of shadow clones were destroyed. "But it's not working right. I need at least two minutes to figure it out. Hey- is Sasuke ok?"

Their third team mate was frozen- hand wrapped tight around his kunai. Dark eyes expressionless. Sakura laid a hesitant hand on his shoulder and he startled.

"You ok?" she asked, glancing over the sheen of sweat on his brow, the thin press of his lips. "You can go guard Tazuna if you want."

For a second, she didn't think he heard her, but then he convulsively grabbed her hand. Sakura could feel her bones protest at the grip, but he only shook his head, eyes clearing. Whatever had affected him was gone. Poison?

"Right." Naruto glanced behind his clones and frowned. "I need a distraction-"

"I'll go."

"What! Sakura-"

She shook her head, "Sorry Naruto. But you know as much about this guy as I do- so I'm not much help and Sasuke's got better skills. I'll get you your two minutes," She smiled and hoped that it looked confident and cool- like it did in the movies. The bravado didn't last long, "Just hurry- ok?"

"Right!"

She took a step forward, but found she couldn't move. Sasuke's grip tightening as he stared at her.

"Sasuke- this is the only option. If you have a better idea, now would be a great time to say." Part of her begged silently for him to agree, open his mouth, explain a plan that would have her standing safe to the side where she wouldn't be hurt, be killed. But his eyes were unreadable when he let go of her hand and nodded.

"Don't die."

"Not planning to."

0X0X0X0

Kakashi POV

As last stands went, this was pathetic.

Obito would be so disappointed.

Caught like a fly in a trap.

Forgive me Rin.

Amateur move- retreating to water when fighting a mist ninja. Had the war ended so long ago that he lost his combat sense? Had he been coasting on his reputation- Kakashi of the 1,000 Jutsu? A name to strike fear into the bravest of enemy.

Useless now.

Just like him. He should have refused this team. Should have failed them. How the hell was he supposed to help them grow when his own team failed.

Shadow clones exploded onto the scene and Kakashi allowed himself a faint smile. Naruto- brave Naruto- sacrificing himself as a distraction for his team. So like Obito after all, because a ninja who abandons his mission is trash, but a ninja who abandons his comrades is worse than tras-

What.

A pink haired kunoichi leapt out of the mass of clones and planted herself infront of the infamous missing-nin from the Mist. Hands on her hips, eyes cool as she glanced over Zabuza, Kakashi almost didn't recognize the conciencious genin he had come to expect.

"Oi. Zabuza-chan!" She raised a hand to her mouth to help her voice carry, "I've got a question for you, you big lug!"

Sakura POV

Ok, maybe letting Inner Sakura take over wasn't the smartest idea she'd ever had. But when Naruto had told her he needed a distraction, needed Zabuza to not attack for two minutes, she had agreed without the faintest idea of how to accomplish that or the courage to try.

Luckily, nothing scared Inner Sakura.

"Kid." The tall man had raised an eyebrow- or the part of the face where eyebrows usually were- as he looked at her, "Do you really think a fight is the best time for a conversation?"

"Well, excuse me- Mr. Master of the Silent Kill who Believes in Announcing that He Will Attack is Target with a Long Monologue," Sakura jutted her hip and crossed her arms. "I'm pretty sure that battle is the only place for heart-to-hearts." Inside, the real her might be quaking, but it was easy to mimic Ino's stances and let the little voice in her head out. Surprisingly easy.

Instead of attacking, Zabuza burst out in laughter, "You've got guts, kid. But what the hell. You're going to die anyways- what do you want to know?"

"Um. What do you think a Ninja is?"

And that was the real point. Because underneath the bravado, underneath the fear, deep in the most primitive parts of her brain, she felt she was going to survive. Why? Because there was no way her future self was able to send messages if she died today.

"What?"

"You heard me. Earlier you were blabbing about how a Ninja can only be called a Ninja if they're in your scrapbook- or have survived multiple brushes with death-"

"It's a handbook."

"And I think that's bullshit." She concluded with a deep breath. 45 seconds down, 75 seconds remaining. When Zabuza didn't immediately reply or cut her down she continued, "Because think about it- lots of people escape death- think about all the dangerous jobs, like mining or deep sea fishing, or being a Samurai." She counted the jobs off on her fingers.

When researching trade opportunities in the Land of Water for one of Asuma-sensei's lunches, she had been amazed at the mortality rate of civilian trades. Sure, the Shinobi profession was lethal even during peace time, but other careers were dangerous too. And for the stupidest reasons! If civilians had even the inkling of chakra control or taijustsu training, they might be able to avoid being crushed in mountains or drowning in the ocean.

"It's not just about surviving death, kid." The water clone raised his hands to eye level, "It's about painting your hands red with blood. When I-"

"Yeah, that doesn't make sense either," Sakura interrupted.

A minute down. A minute left. Come on Naruto, she didn't know how long the missing-nin's patience would last.

"Because, again, there are plenty of people whose hands are 'painted red with blood,'" She threw up a set of air quotes, "Which, by the way, sounds really unhygienic, but also doesn't make you a ninja. What about yakuza bosses? Or common street thugs? Or, again, Samurai. All of who have probably killed more people than you and aren't ninjas."

"Oh I doubt that," Zabuza smiled- or at least she assumed that was what the creasing of the mask meant- and completely missed the point, "You see, before I was even a genin, my name already struck fear into the hearts of adults. Do you know why, kid?"

"No," Sakura admitted and then continued before she could stop, "But I'm sure you are going to tell me."

75 seconds down, 45 seconds left. Any second Naruto.

"In the mist, the final graduation test is a fight to the death. Classmate against classmate. Friend against friend. But there were no fights my year," He grinned creepily at the memory, "Because I killed them all."

"Yeah, that doesn't make sense."

"…what."

"No, I mean, congratulations on killing all your friends and classmates, but why would that be a good graduation exam?"

"To determine who was the strongest ninja."

"Again with the strength," Sakura muttered to herself, but she glanced back up at him and frowned, "Ok. No. First, some of the best ninja haven't killed anyone." She thought of Ino's mum who had served as the best intelligence officer in the Fire nation before deciding to retire back to Konoha. She was known as Rika of the Lily Palms- referencing her ability to act without death.

"What?"

"Second," Sakura continued as though she hadn't heard him, "That graduation exam halves the pool of genin and creates all sorts of tensions. What if you are put on a team with the person who killed your best friend or sister? What about paper ninja in the village- those who don't fight but crack codes or teach or heal?

30 seconds

"No wonder the water nation turned on blood limits," She said with rising understanding, "After seeing how blood thirsty Mist Ninja were- because of their training- they had every right to be terrified of even more powerful ninja. Kami, if that practice had continued, the civilian population might have turned on even regular ninja-"

"They would have tried." Zabuza growled.

20 seconds.

"Yeah- so then you kill a few villages- but how many can you really manage before they hire an army or an army of other ninja to take you out? Or until you completely destroy your customer base? Wow," Sakura said, looking at the man with new eyes, "That is a really terrible system to grow up in. No wonder you went Missing-nin."

15 seconds.

"Kid, that's not why I went missing-nin."

"Oh? Why's that then?"

10 seconds

"I went missing-nin because I tried to kill the Mizukage."

"Yeah and no wonder!" Sakura shook her head, "I mean- that probably looked like the only solution to stop the madness-right? Protect the Ninja way of life from being destroyed by insane practices."

5 seconds

"Not bad, kid." The water clone hefted his sword, "Most people just assume I'm the insane one."

"Well, I'm not saying you're not." Sakura hedged, "There are dozens of other ways you could probably have tried instead of assassination- but when you have a hammer, everything's a nail- right?"

0 seconds

"Naruto! Go!" Sakura body switched with a branch and disappeared into the underbrush. At the side of the lake a massive number of Naruto clones exploded outwards, seeming to form a shield around-

Three senbon flew out of the trees and struck Zabuza in the neck. The waterclone collapsed into a splash of water and the prison around Kakashi sensei dissolved. The mass of Naruto clones hesitated then dissolved as Zabuza didn't immediately rise.

"Thank you."

Sakura yelped and glanced up at the tree where a strange ninja with a mask was standing. She recognized the head band protector as a member of the Hidden Mist.

"What?"

The ninja jumped lightly out of the tree and ran to the edge of the lake.

"I have been hunting Zabuza Momochi for some time now. Your distraction was the first time I was able to get close."

Kakashi had hauled the missing-nin out of the water, hand on his neck to check for a pulse.

"He's dead."

"Yes," The strange ninja nodded, "The Hidden Village of the Mist will be pleased to know that he has been apprehended."

"What the hell!" Naruto and Sasuke were running out of the woods- Naruto looking furious as he marched up to the ninja. Sakura noticed absently that they were the same height. "You can't just- just- we had a plan, damnit! Sakura was risking her life talking to him and you could have killed him at any point!"

"Yes." The masked ninja turned to her and Sakura felt a shiver down her spine, "Did you really mean what you said about the role of ninja?"

Sakura could only manage a shaky nod. Now that the bravado was fading and Inner Sakura retreating, she felt the shaky fear start again. In the moment, she hadn't felt anything but interest and curiosity. But now- gods that sword was taller than she was! She could have been killed before she could blink of the man hadn't wanted to talk- to justify himself. Sakura wrapped her arms around herself, then started as Sasuke laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah," she took a deep breath, "There are lots of ways to be a ninja- not just about killing or-or surviving. I- I think Zabuza's life was testimony to what happens when you live like that." She leaned back against Sasuke. Never had she been so glad to have been born in Konoha- a village that valued strength of teams over strength of individuals.

"Perhaps." The hunter-nin glanced down at the corpse and then hefted the weight over his (her?) shoulder as if it didn't weigh anything, "Thank you again, but I must get this body to mist for processing."

With a puff of smoke, the two figures disappeared.

"Well," Kakashi drawled sticking his hands in his pockets, "That went… differently. I'm curious what your plan was going to be, Naruto."

"Oh!" The blond boy rubbed his head, "I was going to use my clones to create a bridge over the water and then Sasuke was going to attack Zabuza- just enough to make him let go of you."

"Ah." The silver haired man nodded, "And why- ah. Chakra exhaustion probably." Naruto had keeled over and was passed out on the ground. After creating that many clones, Sakura wasn't surprised even though Sasuke had flashed over to him and was checking his vitals.

"Sakura-chan?" Sakura glanced over at her sensei, "It may have worked this time, but don't assume that every enemy will want to chat, ok? Or have the logical inconsistencies in his beliefs pointed out."

Sakura nodded slowly, "Is it true though? What he was saying about the Hidden Mist Village?"

Kakashi nodded and Sakura sighed.

"It doesn't make any sense. Why would a ninja village be so short sighted!"

"Sakura," Kakashi's hand fell on her head, "You're 12. There's no need for you to figure out all the issues in the world tomorrow, ok? Now, let's get to the village before we have any more attacks."

A/N: Guys, I can't tell you how glad I am to be done with this scene. Re-writing cannon is hard! So is coming up with strategy and clever plans. Also, has anyone else noticed how badly killing intent affects Sasuke? I'm just going to run with the idea that Sasuke is a natural sensor of chakra and see where it leads.

Happy Nanowrimo and good luck to anyone who is participating. I've decided to turn all my fanfiction writing into Nanowrimo wordcount, so please forgive me if the posts seem a little more rushed and less thought through.

You guys are all amazing with your reviews. Thank you so much.

Have a great day!


	19. Chapter 19

Luckily, no one else attacked them as they straggled their way to Tazuna's home. Straggled because Sasuke had the unconscious Naruto draped over his back and Sakura was managing all three of their bags. What had Naruto decided to bring? His bag weighed a ton.

Of course, Kakashi had waved off the suggestion to help carry either the unconscious team mate or the bags claiming that his chakra reserves were near exhausted from the Sharingan use (Sasuke twitched at every mention of the weird eye) and that a gust of wind could blow him over like a leaf. When he saw his beloved genin team were not impressed, he reminded them that if they were attacked, which was unlikely, he would need his hands free to defend them.

These two reasons contradicted each other, but Sakura had had enough verbal sparring with elite shinobi for one day. So she bit her tongue, shared a look with Sasuke, and hoisted the backpacks up over her shoulders.

The village was sad. That was the only word for it.

The houses were worn and bleached grey from the heavy mists and salt winds off the ocean. The roads were dirt. The civilian clothing worn- though not heavily patched. Industry seemed to be slow- only one shop in the shopping center was still open as they went through the town and most of the others seemed to have been closed a long time ago. The people walked with furtive movements and their expressions hardened when they saw Kakashi's flack jacket.

Sakura sighed and wondered once again what possible money Gato hoped to wring from these poor people.

Tazuna's house, by comparison, was luxurious, though Sakura would normally call it small and traditional. But the rice paper was clean and unpatched. The simple rooms were swept clean. The bridge builder's daughter, Tsunami, met them at the front door.

With a cry, she threw herself at her father, enveloping him in a tight hug. But her eyes widened in confusion when she saw the genin team.

"Why did you bring children? Here?"

"They're ninja," Tazuna reassured her, "And surprisingly capable, though they don't look like it." Tsunami gave her father a look that spoke volumes distrust, confusion, and "have you finally gone round the bend?" but she mastered herself in a moment and welcomed them inside with a smile.

Directing the boys to hastily named guest room, she placed a gentle hand on Sakura's shoulder before she could follow them inside.

"Sakura-chan," She smiled down at the girl, "Of course, you can set up your things in my room."

Sakura blinked up at the woman in confusion. Why would she want to sleep in the same room as Tsunami? These were her team mates. She had spent the past five days sleeping in a tight huddle with them while trading off sentry shifts. She had spent the few weeks curled up on the futon of her living room with Naruto sprawled to the right and Sasuke a neat bundle of limbs on her left. (It wasn't fair, but Sasuke even managed to make sleeping look awesome).

"Why of course," Kakashi's hand landed on her shoulder right as she was about to politely decline, "I'm sure Sakura-chan would love the chance to get away from all the men." He added with a false smile. Sakura glared at him, but he only patted her shoulder in response and took Sasuke and Naruto's bags.

Oh look, Sakura thought bitterly, he's not falling over like a leaf in a wind.

Tsunami's room was simple, but clean. A few faded treasures sat on the small dresser that spoke of a happier, more prosperous time: a sun-faded fan from some local summer festival, a pressed leaf that once must have been beautiful, and a photograph of an unfamiliar man with his arm around her.

"Here we are!" Tsunami huffed pulling an extra futon from the closet. It smelled a little musty, as if it hadn't been aired recently. "Glad I didn't throw it away."

"Thank you very much for your hospitality." Sakura said with faked politeness.

"No problem, no problem. There is space in the dresser if you want to unpack and I sleep pretty deeply so no worries if you need to be up doing your ninja work."

Sakura made a non-committal sound as she pulled open one drawer. Exactly half was filled with Tsunami's small collection of socks and under garments. The other side was perfectly clear as though it had just been full of some other person's clothes. Weird.

"Um, you are ninja, right?"

"What?" Sakura glanced up from the drawer. Tsunami hesitated, hands restlessly folding the sheet into a neat square.

"Ninja. It's just, you seem so young."

"We're genin." Sakura replied shortly.

"Genin?"

"Beginner ninja."

That answer clearly did little to assuage Tsunami's doubts. She glanced down at the sheet and began to shake it out and spread it over the bed.

"Promise me you'll be careful."

"What?" Now it was Sakura's turn to be confused. Tsunami hesitated again and bit her lip.

"It's just…. People have been going missing."

"Children?" Sakura asked, thinking back to her mother's reports from the southern border. Tsunami looked surprised that she knew.

"At first," she admitted, "But since father has been away, there have been men taken. Men and women who were supportive of the bridge. Even Yuudai- father's foreman- went missing last week. People are scared and- well- I don't know why I am telling you to be careful. You're here to help us, right?"

Kakashi's words echoed through her head 'Our mission isn't to solve the crisis. It's to escort Tazuna home and protect him while he finish the bridge.'

How easy it would be to disagree with the worried woman before her. To quote her mission parameters and to point out how badly they had been lied to already: first a chuunin attack and then a jonin level missing nin? That wasn't in their orders. Much less finding a bunch of missing civilians who had run away to a country with better job prospects or, more likely, been killed to stop progress on the bridge.

But before she could open her mouth, Naruto's grin flashed in her mind's eye.

Sakura took a breath and grinned, "Of course we are. Believe in us!"

0X0X0X0

After asking Tsunami for as much information as she could about the missing people (5 children, 3 adults- no bodies found- clothes still hanging in the closets- no mention of searching for fame or fortune), Sakura went to reveal the new intel to her team.

"-important to fit into local customs and she could probably use a break from you."

Sakura pushed open the door to see Naruto sprawled into tangle of limbs on the floor, Kakashi sitting on the edge of the futon, and Sasuke standing over him with his arms crossed and his brow tight. Their teacher really did look exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes and his shoulders were slumped forward. What would have happened if he had had to fight Zabuza any longer?

"Ah- Sakura-chan. Settling in nicely?" Kakashi asked. It was clear he was glad for the distraction. When Sasuke turned her way, she understood why. Sasuke was discreet in many things. His displeasure was not one of those.

The urge to share her new information died on her tongue. Mysteries could wait until tempers were calmed.

"Um. I was thinking we should set up a trap perimeter around the house and set up a sentry watch." She suggested.

"Good. Good. You both do that." Kakashi made small shooing motions with his hands as though eager to be rid of the glowering Uchiha. Said Uchiha didn't move until Sakura grabbed his hand and dragged him from the room. She heard a faint thump like a body hitting a mattress as she closed the door.

"We're going to secure the perimeter," She told Tazuna who was seated at the table with a stack of letters before him, "Please don't let anyone leave the house before we are back."

0X0X0X0

"I don't want you to be in that room." Sasuke finally admitted a half an hour later.

Sakura tested the last deadfall trap and decided it would have to do. She wished one of them knew a good douton Jutsu to make a pit trap, but the forested surroundings had offered plenty of material to string wires, set up explosive notes, and rig deadfalls. None of this would stop a ninja of Zabuza's caliber, but anyone less skill would set off at least one trap on their way to the house.

"What's that?" She asked, wiping a line of sweat from her brow. At least, Sasuke was a dust covered and sweaty as she was. Though he managed to look much cooler as he leaned back against the tree.

"The room." He utterly failed to explain. Then, at her raised eyebrow, sighed. "You should be sleeping with your team."

This was not, Sakura told Inner Sakura firmly, the time to point out the double entendre. Instead, she shrugged and flopped down on the patch of grass that wasn't rigged to explode at a human sized pressure.

"What's really bothering you?" She asked. Now it was Sasuke's turn to shrug and look dismissive, but, after a second, he came over to sit next to her.

"Nothing."

They watched the wind play across the leaves for a few quiet moments as Sakura sank into the peace of hard work after a long, tense day. When the minutes slid past without Sasuke elaborating or getting up to leave, Sakura hazard a guess.

"It's weird that Kakashi has a sharingan."

Sasuke flinched so hard, Sakura was worried he had been hit by a shuriken. But, after a moment, there was a barely perceptible nod. Sakura took it as an invitation to continue.

"Is he your uncle or something? Because I thought the Uchiha were the only ones to develop that technique."

"We are." Sasuke snapped. Then, as though it were painful to admit, "I don't know."

"Don't kno-" Sasuke interrupted in a sharp torrent.

"If he's related, why isn't he dead? If he's not, why does he have it? I don't understand why no one told me!"

"Maybe he was on a long term, undercover mission?" Sakura hazarded a guess, "The Uchiha were ninjas. Were none of them out visiting friends or family in another country? Or on mission? Or… something?" Honestly, the more she considered the scant details of the Uchiha massacre, the more confused she became. How could one clan manage to be all in the same place at the same time when her own family couldn't manage to all eat at the same table more than once every few months?

"I don't know." Sasuke whispered. "Maybe? I don't know. If they did, why didn't they look for me? The clan is supposed to be everything. They could have come back."

"Maybe they were scared to." Sakura said softly. And, with the look he gave her, she knew that possibility was worse than if his entire family had been killed that night.

Feeling very bold, she threw her arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug. At first, he stiffened, but then he collapsed against her and she was almost knocked off balance. Again. Naruto was going to have to help Sasuke with his hugging technique.

"Look. There's got to be a logical explanation for this," She said- determinedly ignoring the small part of her which was almost comatose with delight that Sasuke- their Sasuke- was digging his bony shoulder into her chest and tickling her nose with his hair. "Has the Sharingan ever appeared spontaneously in someone else's blood line?"

"No."

"Can it skip a generation or two and appear in the grandson or great-grandson of the clan?"

"No. It breeds true."

"Can you transplant them?"

"N-" Sasuke began, then, after a long pause, "…yes."

"Well, there you go." Sakura said pleased to have hit upon the answer. "Kakashi must have someone else's eye."

Sasuke stiffened under her arm. "He killed someone and stole their eyes?"

"Or," Sakura quickly continued. What was with Sasuke and the bloodiest possible answer, "Or someone gave it to him? Or an enemy had stolen them and Kakashi had hunted them down? Or an old Uchiha was dying and decided to give his eyes to the village? There are lots of possibilities."

"Tch." Sasuke sniffed. "Uchiha wouldn't ever do that."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Alright. Well, then you come up with a better explanation."

"Hn." Whatever.

Sasuke didn't reply further but also didn't make any move to sit up. Sakura's abs were beginning to ache from supporting them both. She made a bid for a subject that was sure to have him stalking away.

"Have you decided on a more manageable set of goal for your vengeance yet?"

"Hn." No.

"You need to do that." Sakura poked him in the shoulder, "If you don't come up with an achievable plan, you'll never get anything done and then do something drastic to compensate."

Sasuke muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "nag" into her shoulder. Sakura straightened in mock horror.

"Did you just call me a nag?" She demanded.

"Hn." Shifty eyed, but not denying it.

"Better than 'bastard.'" Sakura flicked a strand of hair from her eyes haughtily,

Sasuke hesitated for a second, then almost grinned, "Better than 'dobe.'"

Sakura couldn't help herself. She cracked up and needed to be saved from falling over and setting off the explosion trap next to them.

A/N: The plot continues!

A huge thank you to all the reviewers, favers, and followers. When I started this fic, I was set to be amazed if I got one review per chapter. Needless to say, you guys are amazing and deserve a hug.

A quick shout out to Neko-Mitsuko, Kairan1979, and mimosa. These lovely reviewers were kind enough to point out some mistakes I made with character's names and spellings and teach me some Japanese grammar! My favorite way to write is fast and post faster, which means things are often overlooked. With your guy's help, I can keep polishing this story into a better version. So thank you very much!

As always, favs and follows make me happy, but a review makes my day! Let me know what is working for you, what's not, and what you would like to see!

Have a great day!


	20. Chapter 20

_Eight Hours Ago_

"Whaaaat!" Naruto yelled, bright eyed and nearly bouncing with extra energy. Apparently, all the blond idiot was a good night sleep and total chakra exhaustion was a distant memory.

Freak. Sakura, barely surviving on four hours of rest, thought and tried not to glare at him.

Kakashi nodded solemnly, "It's highly unlikely a hunter nin-could kill Zabuza alone."

"So you mean he's still alive and out there?" Three Naruto appeared in the place of one and immediately began scouting around the room as if infamous missing nin might be hiding behind the coffee table.

"It's a safe bet to make." Kakashi, at least, did not look fully rested. He moved slowly and with difficulty and the deep circles remained under his eyes. "I'd give him a week to recover from those wounds, but then we should be prepared. Which means training-"

Only Naruto whooped.

 _Six hours ago_

"This is easy!" Sakura grinned down at her team mates from the cleft in the tree. Sasuke looked faintly amazed while Naruto had to pick his jaw up from the ground.

"Whaaa- Sakura –chan, you're amazing! How did you do that?"

 _Five Hours Ago_

"Hello Tazuna-san," Sakura waved at the bridge builder as she came up to the construction site. Despite the sunny day, all the workers looked either sullen, scared, or a combination of both. Not exactly the workforce bent on liberating their people from the iron grip of tyranny.

"Oh! Sakura-chan! Am I glad to see you." Tazuna he waved her over and threw an arm around her shoulder. Then he turned to his workers.

"Everyone- take a look at this girl here. She may not look like much, but she's one of Konoha's Elite Shinobi forces that I hired in the Land of Fire. She and her team mates will be protecting us until we finish the bridge!"

The response was less than enthusiastic. Men turned to each other and muttered under their breath or just stared at her sullenly. Finally, one man with a mangled hand stepped forward.

"What the hell, Tazuna." He spat, "We gave you our savings to hire ninja, not bring us kids. We've lost enough as is."

"Hey now!" Tazuna protested, "I had my doubts when I met them too, but I saw this girl take down two grown men with nothing but a little knife and out talk a missing-nin that had her teacher beat."

"This is stupid." The man shook his head and turned to his fellow workers. "You all know the saying, 'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.' Well, Yuudai believed this geezer when he said he was going to build a bridge and fix our troubles. And where is Yuudai now? We believed Tazuna when he said he was going to hire Ninja to protect us. I, for one, don't want to end up like Yuudai."

There was a general murmuring of agreement and a flare of panic washed over Sakura. They couldn't leave! If they left, the bridge would never be built. She would never get home, never see her mother, never beat Ino or-

A plan arrived fully formed and Sakura cursed. Damn it, she frowned as brought her hands together and ran towards the crowd, now Sasuke is rubbing off on me.

The spokesman collapsed like a sack of wet cement after one kick. Before he even hit the ground, Sakura had a fistful of his hair and a knife at his throat. Though she hadn't moved fast by ninja standards, the laborers stared as if she had teleported between them. In a way she had.

Inspired by Naruto, she had left a shadow clone next to Tazuna. Her mirror self waved to the assembled men and they gasped. Astonished to see two of her where only one had been.

She dropped the ring leader once everyone had gotten a clear view of her knife at his throat. Then she turned to the group of men.

"Anyone else want to question me?" she snapped. No one did, but it wasn't quite enough. They needed to make the bridge and they needed to do it quickly- which meant high moral. She marched up to the largest of the men and glared at him.

"What about you? Think you can take me on? If you can't hit a girl," She added with a smile as she formed the hand signals for a henge, "why not take on yourself?"

The mirror image of the man stood before him- smirking and standing with his hands on his hips. Not a bad hegne, if she did say so herself, Sakura thought. Sure, her shadow was too small and feminine and the ragged clothes might not hold up to a touch, but for having only spent a split second looking at the guy? She was pretty proud of herself.

"Or," She continued, with thoughts of Naruto now influencing her, breaking into an exaggeratedly sexy pose, "Am I way too pretty no?" She fluttered her borrowed eyelashes.

The man's large frame made the pose look even more ridiculous and the sudden humor following the equally sudden violence, broke the tension. The men grinned and a few even laughed, nudging their comrade and picking their ring leader off the ground.

Sakura let the henge and shadow clone fade, before leaping onto a stack of lumber near the edge of the bridge and raised her hands. To her surprise, the men actually fell quiet.

"Hopefully, that demonstration put some of your fears to rest. If not, I'll ask my team mates to do the same when they arrive."

"Where are they?" A weedy looking man in the back piped up.

"Right, now they are searching the island for the missing people." A blatant lie, but if Tazuna was willing to stretch the truth, so was she. After all, it would only take Naruto one good Kage Bushin to look up every tree and in every cellar.

"We were originally hired to guard you while you completed the bridge, but we will not sit by while your village is picked off one by one. So please entrust us with your protection and work hard without worry!" She bowed to them as they had been taught at the Academy. Technically those phrases were reserved for the aristocracy, but they seemed to reach the laborers who stood a little straighter. When she rose, she saw Tazuna looking at her oddly.

 _Four and a half hours ago_

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

Sakura immediately turned to the familiar voice- kunai in hand. Kazuo, who had been explaining the right ratio of limestone to sand in their home made cement, backed away hastily from the knife. Never mind that he regularity worked with tools that put the delicate kunai to shame.

"Naruto- is everything ok?" She ran towards her team mate in concern. What happened? Had Kakashi collapsed? Had Naruto mastered tree walking already?

"Yeah!" He gave her the thumbs, rather than his usual hug and Sakura felt concern run up her spine. Before he could come any closer, she fell back into a defensive crouch.

"Naruto- where did you tell me about putting glue in the Hokage's hair?"

"Eh?" Naruto screwed up his face, "Um. On top of the Hokage monument I think? Why? Are you planning on pranking Kakashi!" His face split into a familiar smile and Sakura stood up with relief.

"No," Then, when Naruto looked more confused than crestfallen, she explained, "You didn't hug me when you ran up. I wanted to make sure you weren't an imposter."

"Oh!" Understanding bloomed over his face, "Good thinking, Sakura-chan. Nah- I didn't hug you because I'm a clone!"

"What?"

"Yeah," Naruto wrapped his hands behind his neck and stretched, "Teme is freaking out because Kakashi sent you out here by yourself while there were enemy shinobi around or whatever. Anyways, I said I'd send a clone over, and then you could stab me, and I'll know and- why are you looking at me like that?"

Sakura shook her head sharply to snap out of her confusion, "Naruto- the house is two miles away."

"Yeah? So?" He tilted his head, nose scrunched in confusion.

"How is your shadow clone functioning?" She poked at the clone's shoulder. It felt solid- like it was made of real flesh. The jacket was as rough as Naruto's real one.

"Huh?"

"Your influence should fade after a couple yards. Half a mile if you are really, really good." When she saw Naruto's confusion, she sighed. "Remember how Zabuza's water clone had a limited range? That's because if he left Zabuza's influence it would dissolve into water."

"Oooh. Maybe I'm just that awesome!" Naruto laughed and Sakura rolled her eyes. The personality didn't even change.

"Ask Kakashi about it?" She suggested and Naruto nodded. Then he punched himself in the leg hard enough to poof him out of existence.

 _Four hours earlier_

"He says Kage Bushin is different because I actually divide my chakra between my original self and clones!"

Sakura looked up from where she was discussing the blue print with Tazuna who seemed hesitant but not unwilling to give her a lesson in bridge building 101. The sabotage books were wrong- the best way to destroy a bridge would be to focus on the abutments.

Quickly, Sakura ran through some mental math and then frowned at Naruto.

"Naruto, you made like fifty clones the other day. Does that mean they all had 1/50th of your chakra or did the first one have half, the second one had a fourth and so on?"

"Uh…" Naruto looked as confused as if she had asked him calculate the square root of pi.

"Ask Kakashi," She sighed, "Why are you back? Is everything ok?"

"Oh! Yeah. Well. No. But Sasuke's still upset. He thinks you've been replaced with an evil ninja or something so he gave me a question to ask."

"Wow. Glad he has so much faith in me." Sakura crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance.

"I said you looked normal!" Naruto protested, "But then I'm an idiot too apparently and couldn't dispel a genjutsu to save my life, but really I think he's worried about you." Naruto lowered his voice as if he were imparting a secret. Sakura gave him the 'no kidding' look.

"What's the question?"

"What was in the first bento he made for us?"

"Fatty salmon, omelet and tomatoes." Sakura answered promptly. Like she could ever forget the first sweet thing Sasuke had ever done for them. Naruto's jaw dropped to the ground.

"Whoa! You remember! I had no idea. It was months ago!" He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

 _Two and a half hours ago_

"You could have warned me you set up traps!" Naruto whined as he ran up to the bridge. Sakura had realized that concrete walking wasn't very different than tree walking and had climbed to one of the tallest points on the bridge to scan over the area.

"I forgot." She shrugged and began walking down the vertical pole as though she was on flat ground. It killed her abs to hold herself steady, but the chakra expenditure was simple. "Don't walk down the eastern road and watch out for the big boulder on the northern road. Isn't Sasuke convinced yet?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and flopped to the ground. "Remind me never, ever to make Sasuke mad."

"What's he doing?" Sakura handed him a canteen out of habit and watched, amazed, as the clone drank it down eagerly. At least, she assumed he was a clone.

"Just-" Naruto waved his hands, "Kakashi is a terrible teacher. How dare he send you out on your own when you're the weakest member-"

"What!"

"I didn't say it!" Naruto protested again, "It's all Sasuke."

"So what did Kakashi say in response to that?" Sakura asked. To be honest, she was a little concerned to be sent out on her own. Sure, Kakashi said they had a week. But he also said that chuunin would be the worst that they faced and that it would be an easy mission.

"Well," Naruto scratched his head, "He said you were a lot more capable than Sasuke thought and that we needed to focus on tree walking and you had already mastered it. And he wanted us to progress at the same rate and- well. Honestly? I wish you were there. I can't get this tree walking thing at all. Neither can Sasuke, but I think that's because he's mostly just arguing with Sensei."

"Huh." Sakura pursed her lips. "Did Sensei say anything about the chakra division?"

"Oh! Yeah!" Naruto beamed up at her, "He said that the chakra's evenly divided between however many clones I use. So if I summon two each has half. Four and each has a fourth. Five and- why are you looking at me like that?"

Just how much chakra do you have? Sakura thought to herself, but she didn't voice the question. Instead she took a seat next to Naruto and slumped over her legs. The afternoon sun was hot and she was hungry, but Tazuna had been eager to continue the bridge and had his workers take lunch in shifts.

"Are you coming back again?" She asked after a second. It was sort of nice to know Naruto was checking on her ever hour or so.

"Yep! Any more questions for Kakashi-sensei?"

Lots, but she kept that answer to herself too. Instead she asked, "Could you bring me back some more kunai? I used most of mine in the traps."

"Oh! Use mine!" Naruto dug into his pouches and filled her lap with handfuls of the daggers. The protest that the tools would be just clones- made of shadow and illusion- died on her lips. The kunai were heavy. When she hefted one up, it had the same balance as hers. When she threw it-

Oh, well, it poofed before hitting the wall. But still, she had never seen an illusion so realistic.

"Oh! Good idea, Sakura!" Naruto grabbed a kunai from her lap and, before she could stop him, plunged it into his arm. He disappeared in a puff of smoke and the knives in her lap did as well.

 _One and three quarters an hour earlier_

"There you are! What took you so long!" Sakura hopped down out of the tree when she saw Naruto's clone running up the path. For the past hour, she had been scouting up and down the limits of the bridge, waiting for Naruto to return but unwilling to leave her post. Her team mate just grinned.

"I heard your stomach growl last time, so I stopped by the old man's house and Tsunami gave me some lunch for you!"

Sakura was so happy she could have kissed him. Sure, she had a ration bar in her bag and had nibbled on it when the growling of her stomach became distracting, but it had the consistency and taste of dusty cardboard and left a bad taste in her mouth for hours. Lunch- even a simple meal of rice balls- was far preferable.

"Did you miss me?"

"Huh?" Sakura looked up from her meal, to see Naruto grinning at her.

"Did you miss me? You were waiting on the path!"

"Dobe!" She cuffed him fondly in the head, "I have questions about your clones!"

"Awwww…" He drooped comically but took a seat next to her and stole a rice ball, "Well, take your time. The more time I don't have to spend back there. . . " He let his voice trail off meaningfully.

"Sasuke's still arguing with sensei?"

"I wish!" Naruto groaned, "No. He's gone all quiet and cold and sullen and glares at you if you breath next to him too loudly. Kakashi-sensei pretends to be reading his pervy book, but he's gone all hard and brittle. And- we'll, you're much better to be around any day- Sakura-chan!"

Sakura rolled her eyes at the comment but couldn't help but smile too.

"I'm glad you're here too- wha-!"

Naruto tackled her in a tight hug, but as soon as she returned it- he disappeared with a puff of smoke.

"Damn," Sakura whispered to herself. "I didn't even get to ask about the kunai or how he can eat."

 _Currently_

"Uh. The fish is lovely, Tsunami!" After her late lunch of rice balls, Sakura wasn't really hungry, but she was willing to stuff herself if it meant breaking the tense atmosphere. They were all seated around the low table, but with varying levels of comfort. Kakashi hadn't recovered fully and his shoulders drooped in exhaustion from his seat at the table.

"Yeah! It's really great!" Naruto added- helping himself to his fourth bowl of rice.

"Thank you! It's so easy- I'll show you the recipe, Sakura-chan!" Tsunami turned to the girl with a smile. Sakura froze, bite of rice paused midway to her mouth, unsure of how to respond.

Naruto burst into laughter, "Why would you show Sakura-chan! She doesn't cook!"

"At least, I know how to use a stove!" Sakura snapped.

"I know how to use a stove!"

"For what- to hold old dishes?"

"To boil water!" Naruto gave her an exaggerated thumbs up, "Instant Ramen needs 3/4ths a cup of boiling water to make the most delicious meal ever, believe it!"

Kakashi turned to the baffled woman and explained, "Sasuke is the cook of the group, aren't you Sasuke?"

Said cook fixed a glare on their teacher that would have melted senbon and Sakura felt the temperature in the room drop another two degrees. Sasuke has been quiet when she and Tazuna returned from the bridge, silent as he followed her to Tsunami's room to drop off her bag, sullen when he sat next to her at the table. He was sitting just a hair closer than a normal person would, but for Sasuke it felt like he was very much crowding her personal space. Sakura sent Naruto a despairing look.

"Oi! Teme!" Naruto thunked his bowl down on the table. "If you don't eat, you'll never master tree walking and Sakura will have to go back out to guard the stupid bridge!"

Sasuke transferred his glare to his team mate and took a bite of rice. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Ah! Sakura was actually very useful today!" Tazuna looked up from his calculations on the blue print of the bridge to smile at her. He had worked as hard as any of the other men and looked tired.

Sasuke turned his head to glare at Tazuna and took another bite of rice. The older man ducked his head and returned to his notes.

"Oh? You had a nice time?" Tsunami asked Sakura, "The men weren't too mean to you?"

Sasuke glared at Tsunami for even thinking such a thought and took another bite of rice. Tsunami began fussing with the placement of the side dishes.

"Oh yes." Sakura replied evenly, "They were very kind. I learned a lot today!"

Sasuke turned to glare at her as if she was betraying everything he stood for with that comment. Sakura only smiled sweetly and scooped another spoonful of rice into his bowl.

 _Three hours later_

Kakashi caught her as she left the bathroom, rubbing the ends of her hair with a towel to help dry it out. Another downside to long hair: it took forever to dry. Ino said that was a good thing- it promoted patience or some nonsense, but Sakura was sick of it.

"Ah! Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura jumped back to avoid running into him. The man leaned heavily against the wall.

"Sakura-chan. Have a nice day?"

"Um." She thought back to the mini-mutany in the morning, her experiments with Naruto's clones during the afternoon, "It was a little boring?"

"Guard work often is." Kakashi agreed amicably.

The silence stretched between them, but Kakashi made no move to push away from the wall or initiate a new conversation. Sakura sighed. What was it with shinobi and their instance that you read between the lines?

"So," She began, "I was thinking-"

"Excellent idea," Kakashi interrupted, "Naruto's clones would make adequate guards at the bridge for the next six days."

"Right and-"

"Which means you would have to return to train. Unless you want to keep guarding Tazuna?"

Sakura thought of the slow moving hours, the tension at dinner and shuddered. "Nope. Training sounds good!"

"It will be hard."

"Ok."

"Strenuous."

"That's fine."

"Annoying."

"Sounds good."

"Maa," Kakashi sighed, "What did I ever do to deserve such uppity and bossy students? You're lucky you're cute genin."

"Hey! I-" Sakura wanted to protest that she was neither uppity nor bossy, but Kakashi cut her off with a hand to her head- ruffling her newly washed hair.

"I'll take fourth watch. Get some sleep."

 _Five hours later_

The window to the room slid open soundlessly. One of the first things she had done when preparing the house for their stay was to ensure that all the main doors squeaked terribly, but the windows were quiet. No need to advertise the ninja's preferred way of entering and exiting, but it was good to know where the civilians were.

Still, she heard the subtle sound as Sasuke slipped out and found her on the roof. She had taken first watch and was grateful to have another full six hours to catch up on lost sleep tonight. Stifling a yawn, she nodded to him and rose. But at the window, she hesitated and turned back to where her team mate sat- almost invisible against the dark of the night.

"Did you hear what Kakashi-"

"Hn." Yes.

She hesitated, "Thank you. For arguing and sending Naruto. If I had to guard the bridge while you and Naruto trained all week, I- well, that would have been alienating."

"Tch." He agreed.

"So thank you."

"Welcome." When he saw that she was still standing there, frozen in the shock of hearing a bit of politeness from Sasuke- the Sasuke Uchiha- he frowned, "Get some sleep. It's not healthy to be awake and stressed for so long."

"Right. Uh. Night."

She may have missed it, but she could have sworn she heard a muttered farewell as she slipped into Tsunami's room.

A/N: Wow. At some point, I will go through, edit all this, and make it into much less rambling a story. But since this counts towards my Nanowrimo goal, you guys get all the superfluous words and rambling thoughts I can stuff into a chapter. And gosh is it fun to write Sasuke. He's so prickly!

You guys are just an amazing and wonderful community. So- since we are approaching the 100 review mark, if any of you have a one shot you would like to suggest, I'm happy to take it into consideration as an addition for my Shinobi Ficlette stories! Send me a PM or include a review.

Hope you guys are all having a good fall and a great day!


	21. Chapter 21

8\. Training Day

"Alright! Sakura's with us!" Naruto cheered the next morning. As always, his enthusiasm exceeded the combined energy of every other team member. But at least the oppressive silence had lifted around Sasuke. He looked almost, maybe, sort of cheerful (if you squinted and liberally suspended your disbelief).

"Yes, yes." Kakashi-sensei was also looking better. The circles under his eyes were less exaggerated and his normal slouch seemed less from exhaustion and more from his habitual laziness. "Naruto, if you send three clones with Tazuna-san, we should be fulfilling our obligation to the mission."

A handful of clones popped into existence and, with great clamor and cheer, disappeared down the road towards the bridge. They were an effective early warning system if someone did attack the workers and, Sakura realized thinking about the weight of the cloned kunai, more effective than your average clone.

When they reached the familiar clearing, Kakshi hopped up into a tree and pulled out his little orange book. With a wave of his hand, he indicated two trees on the edge of the clearing. One's bark was almost stripped completely off and had a series of footprints leading up to the beginning of a foot of deep gashes in the bark. The other had a path that was shiny with use and a deeply scarred patch of earth at the foot of the tree.

"Alright, you guys know what to do." Kakashi glanced at the boys and returned to his book. With a sigh, Sasuke turned to the scarred tree and with a grimace of determination, Naruto turned to the unmarked one.

Sakura hesitated but, when Kakashi didn't look up from his reading to give her another set of directions, she turned to the tree she had originally climbed and glanced at it critically. Average size, average width. There was the fork in the tree she had reached at her first attempt, though she hadn't actually reached the top like Kakashi had asked.

Well, that was one thing she could do.

Thunk! Naruto fell to the ground, narrowly missing breaking his neck.

Crack! The tree splintered under Sasuke's foot and he kicked off, landing in a neat crouch to glare at the tree.

Sakura took a breath and concentrated her chakra into her feet. When she felt the familiar warm tingle, she opened her eyes and ran for her tree. Plant the foot. Leap up. Feel her chakra meet the warmth of the chakra of the tree, connect to it, settle her as if she were walking on the earth. Push off, plant another foot- again, again-

Her head broke through the canopy and Sakura gave a victorious whoop. Not only had she climbed to the top of the tree, but she realized she could use her chakra as an anchor to balance her on the thin, whippy branches at the crown.

The view was pretty great from up here. Wave country was small- there was only one direction that wasn't ringed in water. She could see the mangroves going out to the sea. See the bridge being built in the distance. See the clearing where the small village slowly sank into obscurity. Saw-

Wait- why was there smoke coming from the northern side of the island? Sakura squinted her eyes and looked at the dark plume rising up out of the forest. Maybe some wood cutters? One of the workers had mentioned that wave country manufactured its own pitch from the variety of firs on the island.

With a shrug, Sakura dismissed the smoke and walked slowly down the tree- allowing neither her momentum or gravity to force her down faster.

"Sakura! How did you do that?" Naruto ran up to her as soon as she stepped lightly off the tree. She was breathing hard- it was more difficult than it looked to keep yourself upright against gravity while fighting not to fall off a tree.

"Magic." She smirked at him, brushing her loosened hair out of her face.

"Sakura!" Naruto whined, "C'mon. Show me. How am I going to be Hokage if I can't even climb a tree!"

Sakura shrugged, "Maybe that will be your title. Here is Uzumaki Naruto- the only Hokage who can't climb a tree. Everyone will laugh at you behind their hands and say- ack!"

With a mock-growl, Naruto had tackled her- knocking her off balance and trapping her in a head lock.

"Sasuke!" He shouted, "I've got her! Now we can torture her until she gives up the secrets of Tree Climbing!"

Sasuke, Sakura noticed in surprise, had drifted closer and was watching them with unreadable eyes. At Naruto's call, he looked up in such surprise that Sakura had to stifle a laugh. But rather than turn away with an irritated huff, he raise a hand and poked Sakura sharply in the side.

"Tell us."

He was, Sakura realize, trying to tickle her.

There was a moment of stunned silence. She and Naruto exchanged a glance- and then they both burst into laughter. Sakura slipped easily out of Naruto's grip and threw her hands in the air.

"I concede," She giggled, "How am I supposed to withstand such skill?"

Naruto was, of course, more dramatic. Falling to his knees he held his hands out beseechingly to their team mate.

"Never have I seen such technique! The skill! The grace- will you teach me your interrogation secrets, oh Master Interrogator!"

"Tch." Sasuke rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets, but didn't turn away. "Maybe."

"A born Yamanaka," Sakura shook her head in mock-sorrow, "Ino will be devastated."

"The Tragedy!" Naruto shouted, "The romance of the century- cut down before it could bloom."

"Tch."

"A T&I dynasty could have been founded."

"Stories could have been written."

"Guys, focus." Kakashi called from the tree, eyes never lifting from his book. Sakura immediately stiffened- authoritorial rebuke, no matter how mild, always filled her with dread.

"We are focusing!" Naruto whined, "We-"

"C'mon Naruto." Sakura grabbed his collar and tugged him towards his tree, "I'll help you with what you're doing wrong."

"Awesome!" Naruto was nothing if not mercurial and easily pleased. "Teach me, Captain Sakura-chan-sempai!"

Sakura rolled her eyes at the old nickname and shoved him towards the tree. "Climb it- I wasn't really watching the first time."

"First hundred times." Sasuke muttered as he came up beside them. Naruto pulled a rude face at him, but quickly returned to his task. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and brought his hands together as he concentrated. Then, with a shout, he opened his eyes and took off for the tree.

One, two-

Gravity won out and Naruto thunked to the ground, only to jump up in the next breath and race back over to Sakura.

"So, so- what am I doing wrong?"

Sakura frowned as she rewound the mental movie in her head. Naruto seemed to be doing all the correct steps- concentrating his chakra to his feet, connecting solidly with the trunk. Wait, that was it.

"Naruto! Your feet are slipping rather than sticking to the bark. You need to concentrate more chakra to the soles of your feet!" She diagnosed triumphantly.

"Huh?" Naruto squinted in confusion.

"The chakra. That you're concentrating to your soles- you need to gather more of it."

"What?"

"You know, when you are collecting your chakra before you run at the tree?"

"Yeah…. No, What?"

"This!" Sasuke snapped. He closed his eyes and brought his hands together. A nearly visible spike of chakra flared into life around his feet. The air suddenly became charged with energy and smelled like an oncoming storm.

Well, that was one question answered.

"Whoa! How did you do that?!" Naruto leapt back in amazement.

"You're using too much chakra," Sakura told Sasuke. "You need like a fourth of that to connect with the tree's chakra."

"Hn." Oh, so that's what I was doing wrong. Thank you so much, Sakura.

Ok, maybe she was reading into that a bit.

"Wait-wait- wait-" Naruto waved his hands for her attention, "Let me see if I got this straight. So, there's all this chakra circling throughout our bodies, right?"

"Along the meridians," Sakura agreed.

A couple weeks into the "how-the-hell-did-Naruto-graduate-without-learning-this?" lessons, Sakura realized that Naruto had no idea what chakra was. Oh, he had heard of the term, but he couldn't actually say how it was created or where it flowed or reference any of the traditional texts that described how to cultivate it. But that was all theoretical and Naruto had already amply proven he did not excel in the traditional school setting.

"Ok. And we can actually, like, control it?" Naruto looked both baffled and confused at the idea. Behind her, Sasuke scoffed, but Sakura only blinked in concern.

"Naruto, how did you think ninjutsu worked?"

The boy shrugged and grinned, "Magic?"

"Naruto, how did you graduate?"

"Eh? Sakura, I told you that story. That bastard-sensei-"

"No," Sakura cut off the stirring rendition of Iruka, the sensei extraordinaire, to the rescue, "No, how didn't a teacher catch this? It's one thing not to know the current balance of major powers. But to not know how chakra works- Naruto, you could have been really hurt!"

"Killed," Sasuke corrected darkly.

Naruto began to look a little concerned, "Yeah- but I know it now? And you and teme have been teaching me lots and-"

"You should go through the entire curriculum with him," Sasuke told her.

Sakura nodded, "I kept all my notes, organized by year and subject. We could start at the beginning in an accelerated program. It will take a couple months, but we've already gone over quite a few things. It's mostly filling in the gaps. A few hours every evening."

"And the morning. We'll get up early- go over the tai-jutsu forms."

"Hey-hey-hey- wait." Naruto shouldered his way into their conversation, "You can't fill up all of Sakura-chan's time. She needs to spend time with her parents. And Ino."

"No, she doesn't. She needs to train."

"Actually, I'd like to make sure I have enough time with them," Sakura cut in. She was oddly touched that Naruto remembered and cared enough to argue for her. "It's my rivalry with Ino that started the whole lesson plan thing anyways. You can work with Naruto on Taijutsu during that time?"

"You need the most Taijutsu help," Sasuke snapped.

"And you need the most socializing," Naruto snapped back, "Which is why we are going to make time to hang out and have fun. Like when we were sleeping over at Sakura's."

Sakura grinned at the memories, "I still can't believe you'd never played poker."

"For such an emotionless bastard, he has a crap poker face."

Said emotionless bastard glared at both his team mates, but relented with a sigh. "Fine. But we're getting up at dawn to train."

Naruto and Sakura shared a high five. Sasuke glared at them.

"Ok. So, if we are going back to basics, we are going way back. Everyone, bring your hands up like this," She brought her hands up to chest level, palms facing each other. The boys followed suit- Naruto looking excited.

"Now, clap them together. Like so. And rub them back and forth until you feel the heat of the friction. Now, pull them apart and do you feel the energy between your palms?"

Naruto nodded in excitement- face lit up in delight. Sakura couldn't help but smile.

"Alright- that's your chakra. With a bit of practice, you can channel that chakra through your hands without rubbing them together. With a bit more practice, you can channel your chakra through other parts of your body, though not as effectively. That's why we make hand signs with our hands rather than our feet or abdominal muscles or- well, I guess if you get really good, you can channel your chakra with just your thoughts and you need neither hands signals nor words to perform a jutsu which has obvious tactical advantages. And I know my dad-"

"Sakura," Sasuke interrupted and nodded at Naruto who's eyes had glazed over. Sakura flushed.

"Well, that's a discussion for another time," Guess she would hold off on her theories of the Hyuga tenketsu control as well. "Naruto, try collecting your chakra in your hand."

Naruto closed his eyes and held up his hand. After a second, his face lit up.

"I can feel it!" He cried. "It's warm and fuzzy!"

Sakura grinned and channeled some chakra into her own hand. She held it an inch over Nartuo's upturned palm and immediately giggled.

"You're right. It feels sort of like sunshine. Warm and happy."

"Eh? Sakura-chan! You can feel my chakra?" Naruto looked at her in amazement.

"Sort of," Sakura shrugged her free shoulder, "I'm not a great sensor- but if you're good you can apparently learn all sorts of things about someone by feeling their chakra: elemental type, emotions, stamina, location, etc."

"Awesome!" Naruto scrunched up his face, "I want to see if I can feel yours."

Sakura doubted that he would. Naruto was many things, but overly aware of other people's energy he was not. She was surprised by Sasuke, who stepped forward with his own palm out. Sakura quickly channeled some more chakra into her palm and held it up to Sasukes. A shiver immediately snaked down her spine. While Naruto's chakra was warm and made her want to smile, Sasuke's was electrifying and made her want to get up and do something, take on the world or something.

"I can't feel it!" Naruto complained after a moment.

"Here, try Sasuke's." Sakura nodded to their empty hands. "His is a little stronger."

Sasuke sighed but obligingly held up his hand. It took Naruto a second more of concentration but then he did likewise.

"Huh."

"Oh! I think I can feel something! It feels. . . sharp?" Naruto asked.

Sakura nodded, "Sharp and tingling. Like when your leg goes numb from sitting on it too long."

"Yeah! Exactly!" Naruto agreed, but then his face fell, "Why can't I feel yours?"

"It's subtle," Sasuke answered. "Sakura's chakra reservoir isn't as large as ours. So her chakra's going to be faint. But it feels. . . clear. Rarified. But fragile? It feels nice."

Sakura immediately blushed a deep red.

"Awwww." Naruto pouted. "I want to feel that. Sakura you've got to get more chakra!"

"Or you could work on your control!"

"Eh." Naruto shrugged off the suggestion, "Hey-hey Teme- what's mine feel like? Huh? Huh?"

"Uh," Sasuke's eyes went blank, "Warm. Powerful. A lot of movement. Not integrated- it feels like there are bits of denser chakra? Or something." He frowned as he focused.

"You're good at this," Sakura commented.

"Hn." Then, "My brother showed me how. He was better."

Sasuke abruptly dropped his hands, cutting off their connection, and shoved his hands in his pocket. Sakura startled- almost stumbling, at the sudden loss of feeling. Her hands felt overly sensitive and her legs felt shaky. Too much focus on their energy- learning the ebbs and flows of their own circling chakra- learning to match hers to theirs and feel theirs react to hers. It felt good. Gentle and open. She blinked to settle herself back in her body.

"Uh, guys?" Kakashi had leapt down from his tree and was standing next to them, "What are you doing?"

"Sakura was showing me how to channel chakra and then we were seeing if we could feel-"

"Yeah, don't do that." Kakashi looked over them with his visible eye, "It's not a good idea to share chakra like that."

"Why not?" Sakura frowned- still feeling a little ungrounded and exposed. "Medic ninja's use their chakra to heal-"

"What do you think healing chakra is?" Kakashi interrupted, "There's a reason it's a different color. It's chakra that has had all personal characteristics filtered out- neutral chakra. That's why it takes such exceptional control to become a medic nin. If try to put your own chakra in someone, the body is going to react badly and destroy itself."

"So I can't just give Sakura some of my chakra?" Naruto complained.

"Nope." Kakashi ruffled his hair, "If you tried to give her a chakra infusion without the proper seals, meditation, and control- you'd end out burning out all her channels and she'd never be able to channel chakra again." Naruto looked horrified and Sakura felt her own stomach drop out in alarm. She hadn't meant to do something dangerous! It was just a way for Naruto to learn about his own chakra.

"But sensors-" She began.

"Sense Chakra, Sakura." Kakashi answered her unasked question, "They are very sensitive and can pick up on the ambient chakra every living thing emits, but they don't actually mingle their own chakra with anything."

"I still don't get why not! What we did felt cool!"

"Naruto, what is Chakra?" When Naruto didn't answer immediately, their sensei turned to Sakura. She answered after a moment's consideration, realization dawning uncomfortably.

"Our life force."

"Exactly." Kakashi nodded, "Every living thing has chakra. Humans, with our ability to think, feel, and be conscious, have a greater capacity to not only be aware of our chakra but manipulate it. Some skilled civilians can use very rudimentary chakra skills to heal or harm- such as famous acupuncturists or martial artists. Shinobi have a greater capacity to both store and manipulate chakra, but we can also manifest it in our jutsu.

"Now, since chakra is our life force- in it is everything that makes us 'alive:' thoughts, memories, emotions, etc. The will of fire, essentially. Would you really be willing to share that with another person? Even your team mates?" Kakashi glanced at them all seriously.

Sakura glanced at her feet. Suddenly, she was very aware of all the uncharitable thoughts, personal grudges, moments of weakness in her life. She didn't want anyone to be privy to those- especially Sasuke. Her team should see her at her best, not her worst. She twisted her hands together tightly.

"Ah- don't look so serious," Kakashi suddenly reached out and ruffled her and Sasuke's hair, "You didn't hurt yourself and are learning a lot about team work. Just don't take it too far, ok?"

They nodded in agreement and Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets, mask crinkling in a smile.

"Right. So, now that we all know what chakra is and how to channel it, you should all be able to climb a tree now. Sakura, if you would stay behind for a second?"

A/N: This was supposed to be one chapter- but then it just. kept. growing. So you get two chapters of training, explanations and fluff!

Fun fact y'all: you, too, can be like the Naruto character and train yourself to feel your qi (chakra). Just do the exercise Sakura suggested to Naruto. After building up some heat and friction in you palms, hold them about three inches apart and pulse your palms together slowly. With practice, you'll feel a bundle of energy between your hands. And you can feel other people's chakra and everyone has their own, unique sensation. It's fun!

As always, I love favs and follows, but it is your reviews that really spark joy in my heart and push me to write faster! Let me know what works, what could be improved on, and what you want to see. Most importantly have a great day and take care of yourselves!


	22. Chapter 22

Kakashi's POV

Kakashi was a fan of the "let them figure it out on their own because no one will be holding your hand on the battlefield" school of teaching. Sometimes he rephrased this as teaching his students to be "independent" or "self studiers" or "look underneath the underneath."

If someone was really pushing for an answer, he'd swear he was willing to teach his cute genin but they needed to ask. The same blind behavior that caused Sakura to forget he was a member of their team during the cat mission, also applied when it came to learning. He was their teacher. They could ask to be taught. They just didn't.

To be fair, he hadn't needed to trot out his excuses much these days. Between Sakura's voracious curiosity and Sasuke's demanding taijutsu practices, they were filling in each other's weaknesses pretty well. Far better than his own team had.

But they would soon reach the limit of what Sakura knew and Sasuke could teach, and Kakashi would have to actually step in. Or foist them off on some other teacher. Though, he had to admit it was pretty galling to be given progress updates of his own kunoichi by Asuma at the bar. If he was going to buy into the subtle sensei competition between Asuma and Kurenai (and the not so subtle competition with Gai), he would be soundly in last place.

Kakashi didn't, actually, like being last.

He considered the girl before him. He had never been so small and eager- not even as an Academy student. Pink hair. Teal eyes. Easily dismissible as only a middling kunoichi. Able to make Chunin but ready to be lost in the archives and bureaucracy of the paper-ninja. Her near perfect chakra control barely making up for her pathetic chakra reserves. A solid, if not exciting, career ahead of her if only the Last Uchiha and the Uzumaki-brat hadn't latched onto her like motherless ducks. As such, she wouldn't fade into simple and peaceful obscurity.

"Ok, Sakura. Pop quiz." He smiled as her face shifted into a mask of horror, "Henge into Naruto."

Relief flooded her face, then a perfect Naruto popped into existence.

"Ok. Sasuke."

It was a little funny to see the normally sullen Uchiha stand so upright and proper. Reminded him of another Uchiha who had been in the ANBU.

"Ok. Me."

He looked a mirror version of himself in the face. Good. She could handle differences in height and weight. Now, for someone she didn't have in front of her.

"Tsunami."

The woman stared back at him, a slight frown marring her face.

"Tazuna."

The old man shifted and glanced down at his shadow.

"Inari."

They had only caught a glimpse of Tsunami's son after dinner last night. Tsunami was terrified of him disappearing and made him stay close to the house.

"Ok. Asuma."

Even though it had been a week since she had seen the man, her memory was good.

"The Hokage."

Sakura frowned, but brought her hands together. If the Third was a little hazy around the edges and his robes not exactly the right cut, it barely mattered. Sakura couldn't have seen the Hokage more than a handful of times, but there he was- age spots and all. Kakashi decided to stump her.

"Madara Uchiha."

After a much longer pause, Sakura brought her hands together and suddenly, a tall, wild haired man was standing before him. Though Kakashi had never met the shadowy founder of Konoha himself, he felt a shiver go down his spine when the dark eyes turned to face him.

"Whoa! Who's that, Sakura-chan?"

"What are you doing?"

The two questions over lapped each other and Sakura immediately dropped the illusion. She looked a little winded- running through that many henges had tired her out.

"That's- Marada Uchiha- I saw a picture- in one of my- history books." She took a deep breath and, with an effort controlled her breathing.

"Hey Sasuke- he looks like you! Are you related?"

Sasuke gave him a darker look than normal. "Yes. As the last name might suggest."

"Ha! Cool! Hey- Sakura why were you turning into Sasuke's grandpa? Is he famous or something?"

"He's one of the founders of Konoha, Naruto."

"What!" Naruto looked genuinely shocked, "No way! I thought the First Hokage founded Konoha."

"He did." Kakashi answered before Sakura could. He was watching Sasuke closely- seeing how the boy's shoulders were tightening in irritation. "Konoha is founded on the truce between the Senju and Uchiha clans."

"Not that anyone remembers," Sasuke snapped- voice dangerously quiet.

"What! This is so cool!" Naruto's excitement cut through the tension as he threw an arm around Sasuke's shoulder. "You're royalty? I knew the Uchiha's were a big deal- but this is awesome! Hey-hey- Sakura why didn't you ever tell me that Teme was actually kind of cool?"

Sakura looked frustrated, "I actually hadn't… put it together."

"It's not talked about much these days." Kakashi leaned back against the tree, eye still trained on Sasuke. The dark haired boy was so tense he looked like he was about to snap in two.

"Wait! Does this mean that you want to be Hokage too, Teme? Like hell am I going to let you beat me! Whoever gets to the top of the tree first is the Hokage!" Naruto shouted as he tugged his team mate away from the two of them. Kakashi decided not to point out that if tree climbing was the determining factor, Sakura should be wearing the Hokage's hat.

"Um, Sensei, why did you have me henge into . . . him?" Sakura was blinking up at him in confusion. Kakashi hummed in the back of his throat.

"Sakura, do you realize how difficult a feat you pulled off?" She blinked up at him in confusion. "Most shinobi have a handful of henge's they've perfected over months of training. Very good ninja can copy anyone they can see. Specialists can call on their memories. But it is very rare to be able to henge into a form you have only seen a two dimensional picture of and then, I doubt you studied that picture for very long?"

Sakura shook her head slowly.

Fifteen years ago, she would have been sent straight to the hospital for training, like Rin. With her head for facts and her perfect chakra control, she would have been made head of surgery before she was finished with puberty.

Luckily, they weren't in a time of war. While part of Kakashi wanted to nudge Sakura towards the medic path, if only to reconstruct his own team in miniature, another part resisted. If Sasuke was drawn to medicine, maybe the curse of the Sharingan could be mitigated. If that power was turned towards healing rather than. . .

Ah, but he was getting ahead of himself. Sasuke hadn't even activated his blood line and Sakura was only 12. In this time of peace, his team had time to explore.

"How would you like to learn a genjustsu, Sakura-chan?"

The way her eyes lit up in excitement was gratifying.

"Really?" She squeaked, "I would love to! We never got to them in school but their application always sounded so promising!"

Kakshi raised an eyebrow, "What do you think a henge is?"

"Henges are genjutsu?" Sakura blinked up at him, "That- actually, that makes sense. Why didn't they tell us that? Or teach us more genjutsu in the Academy?"

"Not many Academy students have the chakra control for a basic henge much less a more complicated genjutsu. The henge is a good basic that can let the instructors decide if someone is a genjutsu type, ninjutsu type, or tai jutsu type."

"And I'm a genjutsu type."

Kakashi nodded. "That or a medic."

"Sasuke's our medic," Sakura frowned at him, "He likes it."

"Just letting you know there are other options." He wouldn't push Sakura to the hospital as much sense as that might make, but he'd at least be able to say he tried. "Now, I don't know many genjutsu. They tend to be user specific and require more concentration and preparation than I like, but this one is pretty basic."

He slowly ran through the seals for the Vanishing Leaf no Jutsu, noting how Sakura's sharp eyes caught the unique positioning of the thumbs in the ram seal. Then, at his nod, she repeated them back carefully. Her hand seals were flawless, as expected, but they were hesitant and too slow.

"Good. Keep practicing the hand seals until the combination feels natural. Then slowly see how using those seals shapes your chakra. When you can begin to feel the shape your chakra takes, try casting the jutsu."

Sakura frowned as she absorbed those instructions. "Yes, but what does the jutsu do?"

Kakashi sighed. He forgot that not everyone could tell a Jutus's effect by the hand seals alone. So many years of using the sharingan to see the real time shaping of chakra had given him the preternatural instinct to feel what the seals were doing to his chakra. If a the snake seal converted the chakra into the water type, pairing it with the ram which split the chakra into various parts, along with dragon which ruled the heavens only as the third seal in a string- then you could create a rain. Add a rat symbol to the mix and the rain became acidic. Channel more chakra through the rat symbol than the others and the acid became strong enough to eat through stone.

But there was no way for Sakura to know that, so Kakashi ran through the hand seals slowly enough for her eyes to follow and let the jutusu wrap around him. It was a limited genjutsu- tied to him rather than a particular area. People would look at him and see what was projected on the other side. Not a great jutsu for movement- a hazy outline would appear as the chakra tried to keep shifting the vision of you- but very effective for an ambush.

"Wow…" Sakura was glancing at where she thought he was with excitement writ large over her features. Kakashi slowly shifted till he was behind her and let the jutsu drop.

"That's the effect you are aiming for."

"Ok," the girl had shifted into thinking mode, "It blocks visual receptors, but not sound or smell right?"

"Hm?"

"It's not a perfect technique- it keeps you invisible but doesn't muffle sound or mask smell. That would be a lot more complicated than just six hand signs."

"Yep."

"Do you know the jutsus for that? Because you could probably layer them."

"Nope." There were other, better ways to move silently that didn't rely on a genjutsu a genin could break and his nin-dogs could smell through any genjutsu as well.

"Oh," Her shoulders drooped in disappointment. "Well, do you know anyone who does?"

Kakashi thought for a moment, but there was only one genjutsu master in the village right now. "Kurenai probably does."

"Team 8's sensei!" Sakura immediately perked up! "Really? Do you think she would train me?"

"Sakura, she has her own team to focus on."

"Oh." Honestly, she was becoming as volatile as Naruto. If this trend continued with Sasuke. . .

"But, after you become a Chunin and her team graduates or drops out, you could ask to become her apprentice. If you still want to pursue genjutsu."

"Maybe," Sakura cast a doubtful glance back at her team mates but her expression cleared quickly, "I bet Ino doesn't know a genjutsu! If I win at this, I'm going to beat her for sure!"

Ah, rivalry. Kakashi thought as his kunoichi ran back to her team mates- the surest path to greatness.

Sakura's POV

The rest of the afternoon had been spent running through the hand seals. Dexterity wasn't Sakura's greatest strength- that role was reserved for her intelligence, but she knew from her Academy years that if she spent enough time repeating the seals, she could master them fluidly.

But what Kakashi said about feeling her chakra react to the seals- she had never thought of that before. None of the instructors had ever mentioned it even. It was always: "Picture the effect in your mind's eye and preform these seals, et voila- you've done a jutsu."

This time, instead of rushing to perform the jutsu first in the class, Sakura seated herself under a tree and concentrated. Slowing her breath, she tried to feel the chakra in her body. Feel the bright blue energy swirling just beneath her skin. When she felt connected to the tingling sensation she made the first seal in the sequence: hare.

Nothing.

Sakura ran through the sequence: Hare, Boar, Rat, Hare, Horse, Tiger.

Nothing. She didn't feel her chakra shift with any of them.

"Sakura-chan- Sakura-chan! Whatcha doing?"

Sakura opened her eyes to see Naruto standing over her with a grin.

"Meditating. Trying to learn a new jutsu Kakashi taught me."

"Kakashi taught you something!" Naruto's eyes widened in mock confusion, "Are you sure it was Kakashi and not an imposter?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "It might be for all the luck I'm having."

"Awww. You'll get it Sakura! You're the best! And hey- look what I've done!" Naruto pointed to his tree which was now sporting a foot print at the base of the trunk. Sakura brightened.

"Hey! Good job! You figured out how to channel chakra to your feet. Now you just need to make sure you're using just enough."

Naruto's face fell. "Yeah- that's the tricky part. Hey! Do you think it would help if I took off my shoes?"

"Maybe?" Sakura shrugged, "Our chakra field extends around us, so shoes and clothes shouldn't matter. But since you are just starting off- maybe it would help?" Naruto was already sitting next to her and stripping off his sandals.

"I'm going to meditate too!" He announced. "Hey Teme! We are meditating on our chakra! Come join us!"

Sasuke gave him an annoyed scowl, but stalked over from his tree easily enough. He threw himself down on the ground next to them and glared at the dirt, then glared at Sakura.

"What am I doing wrong?"

"What?"

"I can do nin jutsu. I can use my chakra. Why can't I climb the tree."

"I'm not sure." Sakura was struggling with her own chakra related issues, "Why don't you ask Kakashi-sensei."

"I'm asking you."

"Well, I'm not the one with 'sensei' after my name-"

"I'll go ask him." Naruto cut in- rising to his feet. "Just 'how come Sasuke isn't able to do the tree climbing', right?"

Sasuke nodded and Naruto ran off to the tree housing their sensei. When Naruto was out of ear shot, Sakura leaned forward and poked Sasuke's knee.

"Why don't you want to talk to Kakashi-sensei."

Sasuke hesitated, "I don't trust him."

"Why? Because he sent me out on the bridge yesterday? I'm here today." She reminded him. Sasuke shook his head.

"The eye." He said simply. "I don't know whose it is." Sakura sighed. She had forgotten the Sharingan, honestly. But of course it would still be bothering Sasuke.

"You could ask him." She poked him again in the knee- part of her amazed and delighted that she could be this open with Sasuke.

"Tch."

"Hey! Ok- he said that this exercise is for chakra control not chakra manipulation. You can perform jutsu without control, just not as many or as awesome. So that's that. Oh! And it might have something to do with Sasuke's chakra."

"What?" The boy looked up in concern.

"Yeah. Like different elements are harder to control or something. I didn't quite get it." He confessed to Sakura with a puppy dog glance. Sakura narrowed her eyes as she tried to figure out what Naruto was talking about. Then it hit her.

"Oh! Are you saying different elemental affinities have different chakra control?"

"Maybe!"

"Do the Uchiha have a family tendency towards chakra type?" She asked Sasuke.

"Fire."

"Well, that makes sense." Sakura nodded and scratched her chin, "Fire is a lot less stable of an element than earth or water. It would make it more powerful, but less easy to control?"

Sasuke considered this for a moment, "There are some fire type specific meditations in the Uchiha library." He admitted after a second.

Sakura suppressed the stab of jealousy. The Leaf villages libraries were extensive- some of the best in the ninja world. But the true secrets of mastery were hidden in the libraries of the great clans. After all, even a minor clan like the Yamanaka's didn't want their secrets shared with the greater world. Ino wouldn't even let her in the library to look- no matter how much she had begged when she was younger and desperate for skills to distinguish herself. Of course, Sasuke had access to the entire Uchiha library of secrets.

"Those would probably help more than the standard meditations." Sakura agreed. Her team mate nodded and wove his fingers into a complicated knot before closing his eyes.

"Alright! Meditation time for Team 7, believe it!" Naruto cheered and immediately threw himself to the ground, crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and then whispered, "Hey-hey- Sakura, how do you meditate?"

Sakura face palmed.

Naruto's POV

Sentry duty was probably the most boring of all the ninja duties. It was dark. It was often cold. It was a good thing if nothing happened. And worst of all, his team mates were sleeping so he couldn't even talk to anyone!

(Like they'd want to waste their time on you)

"All clear, boss!" One of his clones named One hopped up onto the roof where he was seated and saluted him.

Talking to clones didn't count.

"Good work! See if you can meet up with Two and Three and circle back around the house to the shore."

"Will do!" One saluted and disappeared into the dark.

It was much easier to manage his clones after Sakura explained the importance of hierarchy and lines of command. While he still couldn't convince his clones to clean his apartment without him, when it came to protecting Sakura and Teme- he was more than willing to take orders. Right now, there were four clones scouting around the house and woods to make sure no one disturbed his team mates.

(Are you sure you can do that? Useless. Look at how you didn't even know how to manipulate chakra- how are you supposed to protect them when it's all they can do to drag your dead weight-)

Talking to the stupid voice in his head didn't count either.

Below him the window shifted open and Sakura's head soon appeared above the roof.

"Naruto?" She pulled herself up and walked easily over to him on the rough surface

"Sakura-chan! All clear!" Naruto saluted and Sakura acknowledged his comment with a large yawn and a stretch.

"Good to know. You can go to sleep now."

"Nah. Not tired yet." He scooted over and patted the roof next to him. She took a seat and didn't protest when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

Sakura might like to think she was a super ninja who woke in an instance. But he'd lived in her house for a week. He knew that her alarm clock beeped for ever before she finally stumbled out of bed. It wasn't until she washed her face and brushed her hair that she began to feel awake. So, he'd stay here until she was fully alive.

"Weirdo," She muttered tiredly and yawned again.

Even though the night was just as dark and the air just as cold, even though they weren't talking, sentry duty wasn't so bad when Sakura was here.

"Hey, I was thinking- how do you build up chakra reserves?" Naruto eventually broke the silence with the question on his mind since their chakra practice that afternoon.

"Naruto, that is the last thing you need to worry about." Sakura muttered sleepily from his shoulder.

"Not for me," He protested, "For you!"

"Hmm?" She glanced up at him, "Why?"

"'Cause I want to feel your chakra!"

That was the thing that had been bothering him all evening. Sure, it was cool to feel the Teme's chakra, but why couldn't he feel Sakura's? He bet it felt really nice.

(Maybe she doesn't want you to feel it)

Sakura immediately frowned, "Kakashi-sensei said we shouldn't do that."

"He said we shouldn't share chakra," Naruto corrected, "Not that we couldn't feel it. And it's not fair- Sasuke got to feel yours, but I don't?"

"Sasuke is weirdly sensitive," But Sakura sighed and considered for a moment, "Chakra is created through work on the body and spirit. Physical training and certain diets can help cultivate the physical side. Meditation and having a strong will or a strong dream can help cultivate the spiritual side."

"So you need to work out more?" Naruto asked and was gratified to feel Sakura nod against his shoulder.

"Yeah," She sounded less than excited about that, "And probably eat more. But I don't want to get fat!"

"If you're working out more, then you won't."

"Ugh." She huffed and huddled closer into his side. "You're warm."

Naruto suddenly had an idea. With a little focus, he was able to channel his chakra into his hands until they felt warmer. Then he held his chakra infused hand over her head- rubbing back and forth an inch above her hair.

"Naruto? What are you doing?"

"Warming you up! You said my chakra felt warm!" He grinned and she suddenly started giggling.

"Stop! It tickles when you do it like that!"

"Then promise you're going to work out until you have enough chakra!" He held his hand over the side of her neck and she flinched away with a laugh.

"Fine- fine- just stop!"

Naruto let the chakra sensation fade as he sat back on his heels.

"You made a promise now. Don't forget tomorrow."

Sakura was looking much more alert and awake now. She ruffled her hands through her hair and sat up straighter.

"Yeah-yeah." She waved him off, "Seriously though- get some sleep. I think Sasuke was serious about that whole wake up at dawn thing."

Naruto groaned and disappeared down to his room.

The voice in his head was silent.

A/N: Hey all! Thank you all so much for this wonderful response rate of the story. I am glad that it is resonating with so many different people. So, to make sure it continues to resonate- I have a quick poll for you guys:

1) Would you prefer shorter chapters but more rapid posting? Or would you prefer longer chapters but longer post time?

2) Is the story keeping your interest? This chapter in particular doesn't satisfy me- I love coming up with explanations for theories, but don't know if they are interesting to read. So is the balance between fluff, plot, and exploration interesting? What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of?

Fun Fact Time: Did you know that many of your reviews inspire short, one shots in my Shinobi Ficlettes story? (Yes, this is blatant encouragement for you to check out those stories as well, but it's also true. Just posted a Hinata/Naruto story based on Suzululu4moe's comment)

Finally, this is an AU and will be getting much, much more AU in the future. I'm going to twist, change, and ignore certain parts of cannon with happy abandon. I apologize now if this offends anyone.

I hope everyone is having a good month! Take care of yourselves!


	23. Chapter 23

Sasuke had been serious about waking them up at dawn.

He has also been serious about the taijitsu training. Protests of exhaustion, good dreams, basic hygiene fell on deaf ears as he dragged a complaining Naruto and yawning Sakura out to the clearing in the woods. Then, he worked them into the ground.

By breakfast, Sakura was a shaky pile of sweat and noodle like limbs and even Sasuke's hair was sticking to his neck. Not that she had any time to admire it! Inner Sakura complained, she was too tired. Naruto, however, looked as though he had gone for a refreshing jaunt around the island and was ready to tackle a real challenge. Sakura sent him sneaky glares all through breakfast while he kept up a one sided conversation about how awesome the day was going to be.

The morning practice alone would have been bad enough, but there was apparently some horrible, secret, telepathic link between the Sharingan. Kakashi had decided that, since Sakura had mastered both tree climbing and Vanishing Leaf no Jutsu to a certain extent, the best way for her to train was to run through endless repetitions of Academy calisthenics.

While tree walking.

 _Fwip._

Upside down.

 _Thwap._

And she had thought sit ups were annoying when she was on the ground.

 _Fwop._

"Argh! I can't take it anymore!" Sakura jumped out of the tree and grabbed a kunai out of her pack. Before she could reconsider, she was holding a severed handful of her dress- now a shirt- in her fist.

The dress had been, at the time, a tasteful compromise between femininity that was sure to attract Sasuke and the less than rigorous demands of her Academy ninja lifestyle. It had also been fine at the beginning of her genin days. But attractive and pretty as her dress was, acceptable taijutsu attire, it was not.

"Uh, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura took a deep breath and let the remains of the dress fall to the ground, before twisting to trim the back of the dress to a reasonable length. She couldn't afford to have her concentration broken by her dress flipping up and smacking her in her face. Luckily, she was wearing her black shorts underneath it.

"It was in the way," She explained to Naruto as she ran a hand through her sweat matted hair.

"Ok," He agreed warily.

"It kept hitting me in the face."

"Right."

"It was stupid- stupid- stupid-" She kicked at the lumps of cloth on the ground.

"…are you alright?"

Sakura turned on her team mate, a retort on the tip of her tongue, ready to lash out and explain all the reasons that no, she was not alright, and how could he not understand. How did he have the energy to keep throwing himself at that stupid tree when she was winded after twenty lunges? And it wasn't fair that he could make fifty kage bushin and barely notice the strain when she couldn't make chakra strong enough for him to feel and-

But it was Naruto, who was staring at her with wide, worried blue eyes. Who didn't realize how insanely lucky he was to have such huge chakra reserves as a genin and who, honestly, couldn't be blamed for her small reserves. She wasn't actually angry at him.

Though she wanted to be.

"I'm frustrated," She confessed after a long struggle not to yell at him, "I'm tired. I'm sweaty. I'm weak. I want to be home and have a pedicure with Ino, instead of waiting for a stupid bridge to be built or us to be killed." She scrapped her nails along her scalp and that seemed to help.

"Oh," Naruto frowned at her, "Can I help at all?"

She shook her head, then paused.

"Can you convince Sasuke not to freak out if I go off a ways to meditate for an hour or two? I need to focus without-" She waved her hands to indicate the clearing, the battered trees, the sensei reading porn in his own tree. Time alone would be good. Sakura couldn't remember the last time she was actually alone.

Naruto lit up.

"You got it, Sakura-chan! Leave the teme to me!"

She gave him a wan smile of thanks and turned towards her teacher. He barely looked up as she approached.

"Stay within shouting range." Kakashi answered before she could even ask her question. Sakura nodded and followed the foot path further into the woods.

The woods themselves were pleasant. A fresh pine scent from the forest mingled with the breeze off the ocean. The day was slightly chill, but Sakura welcomed the slight wind after her intense day of work outs. As Sakura walked she felt her shoulders unwind and her frustration fade.

Yes, she was frustrated that the boys could wake up after an intense day of training eager and ready to dive in again. Yes, she was annoyed that she couldn't share their enthusiasm or work ethic. Yes, it was bringing up old fears about her position on the team and her usefulness.

But she had excellent chakra control and Kakashi sensei was willing to teach her genjutsu. If she could only master the genjutsu, then she would prove to herself and everyone she deserved to be here! Just as much as the tireless Naruto and the skilled Sasuke.

Thus resolved, Sakura settled down at the base of a sturdy looking oak and sank her consciousness deep into herself. She felt her swirling streams of chakra- nothing compared to Sasuke's rivers or Naruto's oceans. She felt the thrum of the steady oak behind her and knew exactly how much chakra it would take to match that life force and stick to the bark.

Hare, Boar, Rat, Hare, Horse, Tiger.

Sakura's hands danced through the signs she had been practicing for the past twenty four hours. They flowed smoothly, but not yet effortlessly. Her fingers memorizing the different positions but lacking the instant recognition of older skills like henge, bushin, or body switch.

Hare, Boar, Rat, Hare, Horse, Tiger.

Her hands reacted to her thoughts. Her chakra did not.

Sakura frowned and repeated the hand seals, paying special attention to how her energy cycled through her body.

Nothing.

Maybe she needed to go deeper.

Sakura took a deep breath and sunk her awareness even further into her chakra. She could feel it flow through her arms and legs- where it extended out around her fingers and dove back into the body around the elbows. With each breath, she felt the chakra roll up her back and descend down her front with each exhale. She felt how her external chakra bled off gently into the atmosphere. How the tree behind her and the grass below her absorbed the extra chakra.

Sakura realized that each of the trees of the forest also gave off aura's of chakra and that it was possible to feel those aura's brush against her own. Intermingle, because they were all part of the same life force. All growing. She, too, had roots that extended deep into the soft soil- patient and seeking- giving shelter and drinking water. She, too, had branches that rose above- each branch bearing a plethora of smaller branches, each of the smaller branches holding a precious leaf as offering to the sun. The glorious sun that beamed down on her and fed her and-

"KAI!"

A wave of strange chakra rushed through her- cold and biting as the winter wind. Sakura opened her eyes in surprise- instantly on the alert for an attack- only to come face to face with one of the most beautiful girl's she had ever seen.

The girl's pale face was twisted in concern. Her dark eyes searching Sakura's face frantically. But when she saw Sakura look at her, she sighed in relief and dropped her hands.

"Thank goodness. I was worried you had gone too far."

"Wha-?" It was hard to form words. Like, after waking up from a long nap, Sakura had managed to forget talking. It was harder still to unknot her legs and stand. Limbs that moved without the winds seemed foreign and ungainly. The pretty girl offered Sakura a hand as she rose to her feet.

"Are you feeling alright? I haven't seen anything like that since I left my village."

Human. She was human. A living, breathing human.

"What happened?"

She had a tongue. She had teeth. Her throat was used to bring air to her lungs.

"Your skin was turning brown- like the bark of the tree."

Sakura glanced up from her hands in surprise.

"What- I didn't- how? I was just meditating."

The girl shrugged and picked up her basket filled with herbs. "I'm not sure, but you might have been drawing too much on the Natural Chakra in the forest? That's what happened to the Old Sage."

At Sakura's look of confusion, the girl shrugged and sank down into a graceful kneel. She had excellent control over her limbs. Sakura was almost jealous.

"They said that during the worst of the fighting during the third Shinobi war, the oldest and wisest of the hermits decided to go and ask the spirit of the mountain what must be done to stop the bloodshed. He hiked up to the tallest point of the sacred mountain and meditated for forty days and forty nights." The girl's tone had taken on the rhythm of a familiar fairy tale, but Sakura was entranced.

"It rained and it snowed. The wind blew and the sun burned the face of the mountain, but the Old Sage refused to give up his quest to find the answer. Finally, after many days, his attendants went up to check on him, but he had vanished. In his place was a stone statue in the shape of a meditating man." Her eyes had gone far away, as if she was seeing something that was no longer there, "They say that he had gone too deep, slowed his chakra so much that it matched the chakra of the mountains and turned him to stone. And when the wind whistled past at midnight, if you listened carefully, you could hear the answer he gave his life to find."

"What was it?" Sakura leaned forward eagerly, but the girl only shrugged.

"It's just a myth," The girl seemed to suddenly come to herself and smiled, "Ninja-san, may I ask you a question."

Normally, Sakura would say no, but this girl had saved her life and her team was in shouting distance if anything dangerous happened.

"Of course. My name is Sakura, by the way."

"Hello, Sakura-san. You may call me. . . Yuki." The girl hesitated and Sakura decided that wasn't her given name at all. But it was pretty and the winter meaning matched the feel of her chakra. "Sakura-san, what does being a ninja mean to you?"

It was a strange phrasing of a question and Sakura frowned, but could see no danger in answering honestly. Especially since her future self had asked the same question. Maybe this conversation was also foretold and could help her answer it?

"I don't know." She said, "I've heard so many different answers in the past few days, but none of them seem right. Chakra manipulation is at the center of it, but beyond that. . . " She stared at her hands and shrugged.

The girl frowned at her, as if trying to work through a difficult puzzle. "Why are you a ninja?"

"My parents both were," Sakura glanced up and chose her words carefully, "I was born in a hidden village. It wasn't ever a question of attending the Academy, just if I could graduate."

"A family tradition," The girl whispered and was silent for a moment, "Why are you out here training then?"

"To learn to manipulate my chakra in order to become a stronger ninja."

"Why?"

Sakura flushed. Usually, she was the one asking probing questions and puzzling out motives. To have such intense focus on her own thoughts was disconcerting. After thinking of and rejecting half a dozen ideas, she finally settled on one.

"I don't want to let my team mates down."

This answer seemed to please the girl because she settled back more firmly on her heels.

"You care about them?"

"Yes."

"They are precious to you?"

"Yes."

The girl nodded to herself, "Then you are growing stronger to protect your precious people."

Sakura agreed for the third time and then leaned forward herself, "Yuki, what do you think a ninja is?"

"A weapon." The answer was as immediate and blunt as a wound. "Ninja skills are used for war and destruction. Ninja are trained in destruction. They are weapons whose only redeeming feature is to be wielded to protect those they love."

Sakura flinched back and wondered what had happened in this girl's life to bring such coldness into her tone. After a moment's consideration, she decided she didn't want to know.

"I disagree," She said quietly, but firmly. Yuki looked at her with wide eyes and Sakura continued. "I'm sorry for whatever happened in your life to make you think this way, but my team mates and I are not weapons and the skills we are learning are not only for destruction."

She thought of tree walking and how beautiful it had been to be so high and so unafraid. Of the debates she and Ino had over meals of barbecued beef and the insight she had gained into socio-economic forces. Of the hours she could walk and taijutsu forms she could dance through with something that almost seemed like grace.

Each of these skills had been conceived as an act for war, but could be turned into something beautiful by itself. In the same way, any object, skill or art could be used for war. Flower arranging could send messages of hate as well as love. A simple stone could bash in an enemies' skull. A flirtatious smile could be an invitation to spill secrets rather than invite love.

It depended, Sakura realized, entirely upon the intention.

"Then what are you good for?" Yuki's eyes had gone dark with intensity and her voice was tight and deeper than before.

"To help people." Sakura said simply. When Yuki seemed confused by this answer, Sakura continued. "Like this village. We were hired to protect the bridge builders so they can free themselves from Gato's tyranny, but we are also going to help them find the missing children."

"Missing children?" Yuki looked up in alarm and Sakura nodded.

"Yes. There have been five missing children so far- no one knows where they have gone, but now adults are going missing as well. Speaking of which, please be careful on your way home."

"No one told me about missing children," Yuki whispered almost to herself.

"Sakura!"

Sakura could hear Naruto's voice from further down the path and, shortly thereafter, her blond team mate burst into the clearing.

"Sakura-chan! How is med- whoa, who are you!" Naruto pointed at the girl then looked at Sakura, "Sakura-chan, who is the pretty girl?"

"This is Yuki-san. We were just talking."

The girl rose to her feet as Sakura introduced her and gathered her basket into her arms.

"A very interesting discussion," She agreed, "But I'm afraid that I must be on my way. Sakura-san, it was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for sharing your thoughts."

"Thank you for sharing yours," Sakura replied automatically, "I hope it. . . helped?"

"I has given me a lot to think about." Yuki said and headed down the path. At the edge of the clearing, she paused and looked back at them, "And Naruto, was it? By the way, I'm a boy."

Then Yuki- now a he- disappeared into the woods.

Naruto recovered first.

"What!" He shouted, "He was even prettier than y-" One look at Sakura's expression and he quickly amended his pronoun. "Sasuke. Which I didn't think was possible. Oh hey! I managed to distract him for a half hour, pretty good, right? But then he wanted to me to come check on you."

"Clone?" she asked and the clone nodded, still staring down the path.

"Hey! Do you think he'll be ok? What with all the missing people? Do you think I should offer to walk him home?"

"Naruto don't hit on the nice gi- boys." Sakura rolled her eyes as Naruto just grinned.

"Why? Jealous? Upset because he has prettier hair than y-" Sakura ended his existence with a punch and a puff of smoke.

"Idiot."

0X0X0X0

Sakura had barely returned to the clearing- ignoring Naruto's embarrassed apology with a half serious sniff and toss of her hair- before their peace was shattered by a high pitched scream of pure terror. Kunai's instinctively jumped into hands and they formed a defensive circle as Kakashi-sensei looked up from his book.

"It's from the house. Naruto, send three more clones to the bridge, and follow me." Their teacher said. He flew off into the woods at speeds greater than Sakura could track and it was all she could do to keep up with Sasuke and Naruto's frantic pace.

Within minutes they arrived at the house to see their teacher kneeling next to a sobbing woman in the front yard. She was crouched, fingers streaked with dirt and face tearstained, as she cried out in horror.

It was Tsunami.

"They took him! They took him!" She cried, "Inari is gone!"

A/N: First, thank you all so much for your awesome response to last chapter's poll. It seems in general that people are happy both with the balance of story elements (which make me happy!) and the update rate (with a slight bias towards shorter and faster). So I'll keep to my strategy of posting a chapter when the next one is half finished, but not try to pad them with too much rambling to increase the word count.

Re: Jenny (who I cannot PM and who has been kind enough to leave me a handful of reviews)- I sympathize with your recognition that Sakura is overthinking everything- even her fluff time with her boys- but unfortunately that won't be going away. It's in the username, after all.

Everyone- thank you so much for your reviews and support! I've said it before and I'll say it again, but it deserves repeating: you are an awesome community. If you haven't done something nice for yourself today, do it for me and, in the mean time, accept a virtual hug and plenty of good thoughts.

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate. Happy end of November to those who don't!


	24. Chapter 24

Sasuke's POV

"They took him! They took him!" She cried, "Inari is gone!"

Things happened very quickly after that and then, much later, far too slowly.

First, the color drained from Sakura's face, as Naruto rushed over to comfort the grief-stricken woman. That was good. Naruto knew how to handle those types of emotions.

(His stomach had dropped when he approached the compound. It was usually quiet, but this was too quiet. He remembered the cold feel of his cheeks when the blood abruptly left his head. Had to leave his head, because there was too much blood everywhere else.)

Then, the Sakura he knew disappeared and was replaced with the analytical stranger who stared out coolly from familiar eyes. That was not good. The last time this Sakura had appeared was after the mist chunin attack and she had broken down shaking for the next hour once the real Sakura returned. Naruto knew how to handle this Sakura- knew when to hug and when to let her rattle off formulae and protocol, but Naruto was dealing with the sobbing civilian. Which meant Sasuke had to do something.

(By the end, He had gone quiet and still. He had always been quiet, but now this was a stillness like a viper before it struck)

Sasuke stepped closer to her to lend moral support.

(He had often stood behind Sasuke when his father berated him for missing a three points on his practical for improper follow through. The quiet presence was meant to be a reprimand, a reminder of who he should be, but his father didn't understand.)

"Don't worry. Don't worry- Inari probably just ran off somewhere and is playing. We'll find him and bring him back- believe it!" Naruto beamed idiotically down at the woman as he patted her shoulder. Was that how you comforted someone? Pat their shoulder and lie? Before Sasuke could try on Sakura, the woman looked up.

"You promised." Her voice was laced with accusation as her face twisted into an ugly snarl, "You promised that you would protect us. That you- you ninja- would stop the kidnappings. Find the missing children."

("You promised, nii-san! You promised you'd help with the shuriken.")

Under the onslaught, Sakura paled further until she could have been carved of marble. The corners of her analytical façade were crumbling. The stress of condemnation cracking her calm, breaking past the shields.

(There hadn't always been a mask. Sometimes, when he was younger, He would smile at him in amusement and it was like the sun had finally come out from the clouds)

"You promised," the woman repeated fiercely. "You promised that-"

("Nii-san, you promised!")

"Shut up!"

Then he was standing in front of Sakura as if his body would be enough to protect against the words.

(It never did. It was never enough. His father's words cut too deep.)

Then his foot was lashing out because if he couldn't physically block the attack, he could eliminate the source. Break the jaw, collapse the throat, stop the stupid, useless words.

(There weren't any more dismissals when your throat was cut)

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. "Stop! Tsunami's in pain." Naruto had blocked the kick with his forearm, crouched in a defensive stance over the woman. But it would be easy to sweep past him, attack the woman from the other side.

(The mist missing-nin was coming at him again, coming from the other side, he had to decide- Sakura or Naruto)

So was Sakura! How dare Naruto defend this woman! How dare he stand over her, teeth bared, when Sakura- their own team mate, was cracking to pieces behind her wall of calm. But he could only manage an inarticulate growl.

(Traitor. Betrayer. Bad enough to desert the village, but hundreds have done it before Him. But to turn on his family? To kill his parents?)

"Sasuke, it's ok."

(Finger reaching out.)

Sakura stepped past him and held out a hand for the woman.

(He could never dodge fast enough)

"Tsunami, Naruto is right. Inari might be out playing with friends-"

"He doesn't have friends!"

Sakura continued in the same calm, measured voice as if she hadn't heard the interruption, "Or maybe visiting his grandfather at the bridge. Why don't you tell us when you last saw him?"

(Maybe tomorrow)

Slowly, between her and Kakashi of the Stolen Eye's questions, the story was pieced together. It had been a beautiful day and Inari, normally an active if introverted boy, was feeling restless. Because of the genin's presence and Kakashi's promise of a week before the missing-nin's recovery, she had agreed to let the boy visit the grave.

(They had come to stand by him at the graves. It was the first time he felt-)

What grave, Sakura had asked- brow creasing in concern.

Another story unfolded: the death of a father, the appearance of the replacement, the heroism, the death, the despair. By the end, Naruto, the dobe, was in tears, but Sakura merely looked over at the woman curled over the prepared cup of tea with the steady gaze that promised to miss nothing and memorize everything.

(It was crushing, the despair. Like the pressure that turned coal into diamond. He had decided to use it- to use the numbness as an anesthetic against the pain of training. Working until he could feel-)

Where was the grave? On the east side of the island, overlooking the shore.

When did Inari leave? Just after lunch, three hours ago.

Has she checked the grave? No, but Inari promised not to be out longer than an hour. And he wasn't back-

(He had meant to be back home in time for dinner)

Sasuke and a Naruto clone were sent out to the grave with one of Kakashi's summoned nin-dogs. Sakura and a Naruto clone were sent to the bridge to guard the workers with another nin-dog. Kakashi was going to search the island with the rest of his summons.

(Once a crow had sat on his shoulder and nibbled at a strand of his hair. He had laughed in delight at the warm weight, the sharp beak, and He had smiled)

After that, things went very slowly.

Kakashi's POV

"Sakura, I need to speak to you."

The mission had turned into a complete and utter cluster-fuck.

It was well past dark by the time Team Seven reassembled at the house. They had spent the entire afternoon searching for the boy. Sasuke had found the foot prints that led to the humble grave marker. Inari had clearly gone there. Had sat and watched the surf come in, possibly talking to the only father figure he knew.

But then he had vanished.

There were no prints leaving the grave yard. No strange prints entering. No sign of struggle. No clues as to where the boy had gone. It was as if he had been spirited away by a ghost.

It was almost exactly like the other missing cases that Kakashi suddenly had to learn about today. Five, now six, children and two adults had gone missing. Some from back yards, some from bedrooms, some while walking in the woods to visit family. Here one minute and gone the next.

Fortunately, that ruled out the slave traders that often preyed on isolated villages. Slavery was universally outlawed in the elemental nations, but brothels needed to be filled, mines needed to be staffed, and less savory activities needed fresh bodies. Slave traders filled that need with the young and healthy from places no one cared about. No one with power, that was.

Unfortunately, that meant whoever, or whatever, that had been taking the children would be more dangerous. There were shinobi kidnapping techniques that left no clues. Jutsu that erased footprints. Poisons that left the victim no will to fight. Civilian's weren't the only ones who committed atrocities or needed bodies. Even in Konoha there were rumors of experiments on civilians and shinobi that left Kakshi cold.

Fortunately, their mission was only to guard Tazuna until the bridge was complete. The economic state of the country, the current political oppression, the ills and concerns of the civilians were not their priority. Not even their concern. If the Wave Country wanted those problems handled, they would have paid for it. But as they didn't, it wasn't their problem.

Unfortunately, a certain pink haired kunoichi had made it their problem.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Sakura, what is our mission?"

If his voice was cold enough to burn, it was because he was angry. If his tone was harsh enough to make her flinch, it was because she needed to learn. Learn that missions were limited for a reason. Learn that shinobi were not gods, not all powerful. Learn that just because you could twist your hands and disappear, or create light from dark, or summon an army with a thought- it did not make you a god. The village knew their limits, knew what they could undertake, knew how to transcribe the myths into reality. She needed to learn.

Before she broke.

"Our mission was to escort Tazuna safely to the Country of Waves and to protect him until such time as the bridge was completed." Sakura recited in a small voice.

Good. The guilt was already eating at her.

"Good. Sakura, what have we been doing?"

"We have escorted Tazuna safely to his home and are protecting him while he is building his bridge."

"Good. And Sakura, what have you been telling people our mission is?"

Here the girl hesitated, looking well and truly miserable. He had seen the way her eyes shone glassy under Tsunami's fury. He had seen the way her shoulders weakened with every hour that passed without success. He knew that the guilt was a heavy weight on her mind and her heart, but he didn't think it would be enough.

"That we would…" She licked dry lips and took a deep breath as if preparing herself to face an enemy Torture and Interrogation unit, "That we would find the missing children."

"Yes, and who did you tell?"

"Tsunami-san and the workers on the bridge."

Kakashi let the weight of the disconnect sink in. If it had only been an empty promise to Tsunami, that would be one thing. But Sakura had placed them in a tricky situation- by telling the laborers, she had created a general understanding that couldn't be erased or ignored without damaging Konoha's reputation. And while Kakashi might be willing to forgo the concerns of a tiny, impoverished nation- Konoha's elites may have other plans. It wasn't the first time that the Country of Waves had been a political pawn on the chessboard of geo-politics.

"Sakura-"

"They were going to revolt, Kakashi-sensei!" His kunoichi broke in harshly. "They weren't going to work- they we going to leave and how could have we have fulfilled our mission if the bridge was never built? I had to say something!"

Kakashi held her tear-filled gaze. "And they required the exact promise that we would find their missing children to stay? Not their own protection? Not to defeat the missing-nin?"

Her hesitation said all he needed to know.

"Why that promise, Sakura?"

"I…" She blinked rapidly and when she answered her voice was small, "After our discussion about the uselessness of the bridge. I- I wanted to prove that ninja's could do something good. Something genuinely helpful. I wanted-"

"To be a hero." The phrase fell heavy in the space between them. Sakura hesitated for a second long and then nodded.

"Sakura." Kakashi enunciated each of his words, "We are not heroes. We are ninja."

"But-"

"If you can't accept that, maybe you need to think about why you want to be a ninja."

A/N: Ok, this chapter was originally written with all four perspectives, but then I realized that it ran for over 6k words and that is just too long. So second half updated tomorrow.

As always, follows, favs and views are great, but reviews are what really inspire me to reach new heights! Happy Holidays to everyone who celebrates and Happy Winter to those who don't.


	25. Chapter 25

Naruto's POV

They hadn't found the kid.

(Weak. Lazy. Useless.)

They had spent all day searching for him. Naruto had spawned what felt like hundreds of clones to traipse through the island and look under bushes and down the shore.

(Lazy. Useless. Weak)

A dull stab of pain throbbed behind his temples. His hands shook and he felt nauseous from the exertion of the chakras. Even with his amazing new abilities, even with his goal to become awesome enough to become the Hokage, even with his absolute faith in his team mates and teacher-

(Useless. Weak. Lazy)

They hadn't found the kid.

Tsunami had gone to her room and hadn't emerged since the sun went down. She had been crying earlier, but had stopped sometime before Kakashi had called Sakura into the other room. Tazuna had retreated to his own room, a bottle of sake clutched tightly in his shaking hands and eyes deeply lined. Sasuke had finished cleaning up the simple meal of rice and fish, and was now cleaning his kunai methodically in the corner.

He was waiting.

They were both waiting.

(Have to wait. Reduced to waiting. Too useless to do anything. Can't even find one missing kid)

The door slid open and Sakura stumbled out. It was a slight fall- her ninja reflexes catching her so quickly it was easily disguised as a step, but her eyes were shuttered and dull. The happy Sakura-chan whose eyes were so bright and lively, hesitated when she saw them waiting in the main room.

(Doesn't want to be near you. You disappointed her. If you had found the boy, none of this would have happened. She would be happy. Your fault. It's your fault.)

She took a step towards the room she shared with Tsunami. Stopped. Took a small step towards the door. Stopped. Stared at her hands, then lifted her head. Naruto could see the effort it took to submerge whatever pain she was in, to raise her chin and relax her shoulders like she hadn't been called into the other room like a scolded child. Knew that the faintly pleased look she plastered on her face was a lie. Knew that crossing the room to sit next to him was an effort. Knew that she thought repressing the worries and fears and pain was making her into a better ninja and team mate. Knew there was nothing he could do but accept this attempt at normalcy.

(If she trusted you, she wouldn't lie. If she really saw you as her team mate, as her friend, she wouldn't feel the need to pretend everything was alright. But you're useless and she has to coddle you, pander to you. Because she can't trust you.)

"Naruto, are you feeling alright?" Sakura asked as she knelt next to him and raised a hand to his forehead. And when she was trying so hard to pretend everything was normal and fine and ok, how could he do anything but grin back at her.

"Of course! We're going to find him tomorrow, Sakura-chan. Believe it! Don't you worry!"

Please, please don't worry.

Sakura smiled back falsely, "I'm not." She lied. "You were really cool today. All those clones were amazing!"

"You think so?" He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, still unused to direct praise. Usually the best he could expect was not to be insulted.

"Yeah!" Honesty colored her tone and her smile grew more genuine, "Naruto- I've never seen so many clones, and they were all independent and thinking. That's an amazing jutsu."

Naruto laughed, "Thanks! You were pretty amazing yourself."

Her face fell- the mask freezing in place a moment later, but it was too late. Naruto already knew that he screwed up.

(Idiot. Idiot. Can't even manage a conversation right. Why are you even here?)

"Uh. Yeah. Thanks." Her knuckles had gone white as she dug her fingers into the remains of her dress. She abruptly rose. "I'm going to run a perimeter check."

(Now she's leaving. You drove her away. The only person who has cared about you.)

Naruto struggled to his feet, "Here- I'll come-"

(Going to leave. Never come back. Broke everything.)

"No." Her voice was sharp with stress, but she immediately softened it to the same, falsely calm tones. Like she was trying to apologize for her own stress. "Naruto, you need to rest up for tomorrow. I've got this."

(Gone. Slipping through his fingers. He would be alone again. No one would look at him. No one would smile. He was alone.)

"Sakura."

Damnit, he wouldn't be hurt when she stopped at Sasuke's word, even as she ignored his. It was just who she was. She always listened a little closer to Sasuke. Always paid just a little more attention. Ever since the days of the Academy when he knew that she crushed on the Uchiha bastard, like every other girl in the school.

(Of course she would. Sasuke is skilled. A good ninja. Everyone wants to know him.)

Said Uchiha bastard was standing now, hand shoved in the pockets of his shorts and looking every inch the arrogant bastard no one else but Naruto was able to see.

"Yes, Sasuke?" Sakura's voice was brittle. The last thing she wanted to do right now was be in the room. Didn't Sasuke see that? What did he want?

"I've been thinking," His eyes slid from her to the wall and he shifted as if the conversation was difficult. Then don't have it, teme. Just let Sakura have some time to be alone, sort things out- she needed that. Naruto knew now that as much as he wanted to spend every hour of every day with her, Sakura started getting quiet and moody if she didn't have an hour to herself.

"There are some advanced fire jutsu, in the Uchiha library. I have decided to master them as my first step in my vengeance." Sasuke rocked back on his heels, looking faintly pleased with himself.

What.

(What?)

At least, Sakura appeared equally confused as she stared at him with increasing tension. Her lips pressed down into a thin, white line and her fists balled at her sides.

(Angry at him, how long will it take before she directs that anger at you?)

"Sasuke," She hissed finally, "Not everything on this kami-damned planet is about you. Or your stupid vengeance."

Sasuke actually took a step back- face pale and shocked as if she had reached over and slapped him. Naruto stared, open mouth, as Sakura spun on her heel and ran out the door. Her footsteps slowly faded into silence as she curved into the forest.

(Gone. Left. If you had done something – anything- none of this would have happened)

"Teme-" Naruto growled as he strode over to his stupidly heartless, brainless team mate, "What the hell was that!"

Usually, when Sasuke looked at him, his eyes were dismissive or condescending or challenging. But now, they were dark with confusion. He glanced between Naruto and the empty door as if he couldn't figure out why Naruto was grabbing him by the collar and Sakura had fled.

"She. . ."

"She's upset!" Naruto snapped. Even the brain dead Uchiha should have enough empathy to pick up on that! "Why did you start prattling on about jutsu and vengeance- and-"

"I was helping!" Sasuke muttered, then, glancing to the empty room, "Trying to help."

"How."

"She…" Sasuke sighed and jabbed Naruto's wrist with his thumb. Numbness radiated out from the point and Naruto dropped Sasuke with a howl as his hand went lifeless for a second. But Sasuke didn't run away this time. Instead he shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the corner of the room like it held the answers to this problem. Finally, a decision reached he looked back at Naruto.

"She told me to come up with goals for my vengeance. It was good advice. I thought she needed to know. . . " Sasuke broke off, frustrated, but understanding was already dawning in Naruto's mind. So the Uchiha wasn't a completely heartless bastard- just a stupid one.

"You were trying to show her that her advice was still good?"

"Hn." Sasuke agreed.

"Yeah, that didn't come across at all." The anger drained away from him as quickly as it came. Honestly, it was like the Uchiha bastard had never spent any time watching normal people interact. He half expected everyone to be a mind reader and then to agree to his every demand.

"Hn," He knew that already, dobe.

"You should probably explain what you were trying to do- Not right now!" Naruto threw himself in front of the door with arms outstretched as Sasuke started to run after Sakura. The Uchiha bastard glared at him, but didn't knock him over. Good. At Naruto's state, he probably couldn't do much to stop him.

"Sakura needs alone time," Naruto explained, "She's so smart, she gets mixed up in her head because she can see too many sides of the issues. She needs some time to sort out things out before she can talk to you without getting all-" he waved his hands in front of his face and tried to effect the pleasantly blank expression Sakura wore under stress.

Sasuke understood got it. With a sigh, he spun away from the door and paced back to the table, though his kunai had been sharpened to a razor's edge and his med kit had been packed and re-packed four times.

"How do you know her so well?" Sasuke finally asked. He sounded frustrated, but if it was with himself, Naruto, or Sakura- Naruto couldn't tell.

Naruto shrugged, "I watch her. Notice things."

"I watch her." Sasuke protested, then added with Naruto only raised an eyebrow. "She only exercises for two and a half minutes before she finds some excuse to pause and adjust her hair, stretch, whatever."

"Yeah and do you know why?" Naruto asked. When the resulting sullen silence indicated Sasuke very much didn't, Naruto explained, "It's so her face doesn't get red. It's something all the girls in the Academy did- so they never looked out of breath or sweaty."

"That's stupid."

"Yeah." Naruto agreed, "I don't think she really realizes she does it though. But that's what I mean. You notice the physical stuff, but you don't notice why. Or the human stuff."

"Tch." Sasuke looked away but didn't disagree. "How long should I wait?"

Naruto rolled his neck as he considered. Sakura was pretty upset. Normally, he'd give her ten minutes to calm down, but after today it might be better to give her longer.

"Half hour to forty minutes?" He suggested. Sasuke immediately rose- "Hey where are you going?"

"That's enough time to cook you some rice." When Naruto blinked at him in confusion, Sasuke gave him a superior smirk, "Your stomach was growling earlier. I noticed that."

Sakura POV

The traps were set. The paths to the house wired so no one could approach without the sentry knowing. The trees were strung with the bells and wooden clappers that should a shinobi approach through the trees, they would either be impeded by caution or they would be exposed.

Dozens of traps taking advantage of the natural formations- the large trees, the brook running to the south, the slight ridge to the north west. She had been so pleased with her Team's traps. Pleased with how safe Tsunami and Inari were every time they left the house. She had been so wrong.

She had been so wrong about many things.

(Like hell she was!)

Traps checked. Perimeter secured. Kunai counted. Shuriken prepped. Report mentally detailed. House secured.

Unless she was wrong about that too.

(Like hell she was!)

"If you can't accept that, maybe you need to think about why you want to be a ninja."

They hadn't started sentry duty yet. Everyone was still awake. So it wasn't technically desertion when she suddenly bolted into the woods, running heedlessly through the darkened forest as though she would be able to outrun her sensei's words. Prove, with her speed that she deserved to still be on the team. Even if she was weak. Even if she was stupid. Even if her chakra reserves were tiny.

(Fuck all that, she was awesome!)

But Sasuke was faster. Naruto could run further. After less than a mile her breath was harsh in her throat and her sides ached. The boys would have run to the edge of the island. Have found some suitably dramatic rock to sit upon and brood in the moonlight.

Instead, Sakura turned abruptly and ran full tilt at one of the large pines that dotted the island. Her feet found the chakra of the tree easily and she transition from running on soil to running on bark with barely a hesitation.

When she burst through the canopy to the clear sky above, it was as if she had run to the most deserted part of the island. There were no lights in wave country. A few flickering torches at the village, but few had running electricity or the money to waste on lighting their homes. Instead, they had regressed to pre-crash technology- huddled around fires and lamps when in Konoha Sakura sometimes left the hall light on when she went to bed. Just so she could see her way to the bathroom. It wasn't fair.

"If you can't accept that, maybe you need to think about why you want to be a ninja."

With no chores left to finish, no team mates to distract her, no desperate run to wipe her mind clean, Kakashi's words filtered back. Her brain immediately re-arranged the phrase to be more palatable: why I want to be a ninja, an essay by Sakura Haruno.

She wanted to be a ninja because. . .

Her normally well trained and logical brain came up blank.

She wanted to be a ninja because it was never a question that she would enter the academy that her parents had graduated from. Because Ino was there and she would never leave her best friend (though Sasuke and hormones later proved how fickle her assertions could be). Because it was all she ever knew and didn't know what else she would do.

Because who else would make sure Naruto wasn't killed in combat because he didn't know how to properly throw an explosive tag? Or make sure that he ate something other than ramen on days when Sasuke didn't cook? And who would give Sasuke awkward half hugs and be conveniently awake when Sasuke had one of his frequent nightmares?

"Sakura."

From far below, Sasuke's voice floated up to her and Sakura huddled closer around herself as if that would make her less detectable. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to anyone and if someone had run out to find her, she would have preferred Naruto. Naruto, for all his energy and babble, at least knew how to be comforting. Maybe Sasuke would overlook her hiding place?

No such luck. Sasuke wasn't their top graduate for nothing. A huff, snap of twigs and muttered curse and Sasuke climbed up to her perch on the top of the tree. Well, looks like someone had mostly mastered the tree climbing exercise.

"Sakura, come down from there. It's not safe." Sasuke paused on a lower, sturdier branch unwilling to venture onto the whippy top boughs that Sakura was sitting on. Sakura wrapped her arms tighter around her shoulders and refused to look down. But the urge to share was overwhelming.

"You can use your chakra to anchor yourself," She said and lifted her foot as a demonstration. The thin twig lifted with her. As long as you didn't try to put any weight on a dead branch that would snap off, the upper boughs were pretty secure.

Sasuke huffed and muttered something under his breath, but climbed gingerly up to the branch next to her. His shoulders were tight as he balanced himself- his grip almost white knuckled as he held to the trunk. It wasn't fair that he could make even nervousness look gorgeous.

If you had promised Sakura at the end of graduation that she would have been irritated by the famous Uchiha's presence, she would have knocked you out of the park in indignation. But now, Sakura resented his presence. Resented the apology that she was no doubt expected to give. Because no matter how irritated she was, how frustrating Sasuke was, it wasn't right to snap at him and say that his reason for being a ninja was stupid. Who was she to judge? She didn't even have a reason.

Still, the silence between them needed to be broken. Sasuke certainly didn't track her through the darkened woods and climb a tree just to be a comforting presence at her side. He clearly-

"….sorry."

"What?" A sudden grab for the trunk saved her imminent tumble as her surprise broke her passive concentration on sticking to the branches. Sasuke shot her an annoyed glare.

"I said, I was sorry."

"I heard you." Sakura snapped back, "I'm just surprised. What are you sorry about?"

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably on his branch, edging around so he could face her more squarely. The moon, waxing gibbeous, was bright enough at this height to highlight the sharp angles of his face. It looked like he was chewing on the edge of his tongue as he sorted through his thoughts- eyes scanning the horizon rather than looking at her.

"I'm sorry . . . that I wasn't a good team mate." He glanced at her, but she was struck mute by the apology. Irritated with her silence, he continued in halting tones, " I was trying to show you that your judgment is good. Even if Kakashi doesn't agree. But my vengeance isn't stupid." He finished fiercely and glared at her.

Sakura blinked at him, too astonished to even register the sharp, final words. Sasuke never apologized- not with an actual explanation. It was like saying the sky was green or the grass purple. Her ninja instincts told her to cast a quick genjutsu dispersal, but her social skills reminded her that would probably offend him. Still, in the light of the apology, her irritation melted like the first snows of April.

"It's not," She agreed softly, "I'm sorry for saying it was stupid. I wasn't a good team mate either."

"Hn." Sasuke agreed, but seemed content to let the matter settle at that. He shifted a little closer to the trunk and drew up his leg to his chest. Apology accepted, he was clearly willing to wait for her to descend.

But Sakura was hesitant to go back to the house. Sasuke was only one of three issues. She didn't want to go back and face Kakashi without having his question answered. Didn't want to face Tsunami without having found her son. But it was… nice to have Sasuke sitting next to her- too cool to mention the chill wind or the late hour.

(We don't need him! We can figure this out ourselves, for sure!)

Sakura sighed and rubbed her hands through her hair, dislodging her headband. She caught it before it could fall, but instead of putting it back on, stared at the forehead protector. Ninja. Why was she a ninja? No plan for vengeance like Sasuke. No dream of Hokage like Naruto. Just a sense of inertia and worry for her team mates. But if she was a terrible ninja, she wouldn't be able to take care of them, be a liability and-

"Sasuke, do you think I am a good ninja?" Her boldness surprised her. The question falling from her lips, before her mind caught up to remind her that Sasuke, even a Sasuke who apologized, wasn't interested in her weaknesses.

"No."

Even expected, the response still hurt. Sakura couldn't hide the flinch from a pain as real as if Sasuke had sucker punched her in the stomach. She blinked rapidly so the tears which suddenly formed didn't spill down her cheeks and betray the effect of the one syllable.

So. That was what he thought. All the training, all the lunches and late night conversations- they amounted to something- she wasn't so stupid as to dismiss those gestures. But respecting her as a shinobi? As a colleague and team mate? Sakura had never realized how important that respect was to her. She didn't just want Sasuke's attention or friendship, she wanted his respect.

"I see." She said and Sakura was absurdly pleased that she was able to keep her voice steady despite the rising tide of despair.

"You're not a good ninja," Sasuke continued conversationally. "You care too much about your appearance. You don't work hard. You care too much what people think about you. And you spend too much time hanging out with the Dobe instead of training."

Each criticism was another twist of the blade he had sunk in her stomach with that first syllable. By the end Sakura felt almost breathless and light headed. When had Sasuke paid enough attention to her to make these judgments? And where was this coming from? She had asked a question intending to be comforted, like how Naruto would have, but he was beating her down?

The worst part, if Sakura could be honest, was that he was right.

Just a little bit.

Sakura hung her head and took a deep, stabilizing breath. Her fingers flexed into fists to hide their shaking whether from shock or rage, she wasn't sure. But she had never wanted to punch Sasuke in his smug, fat face as much as she did in this moment.

But Sasuke wasn't finished.

"You could be a good ninja," He finally added, "But you lack focus. What is your goal?"

Never had her childhood goal of being the Uchiha's bride been so far from her mind. Like she would ever, ever, ever think of marrying this bastard.

"To become the best Kunoichi!" She snapped with real feel. That goal had started out as a way to protect Naruto's feelings, but it had transformed into a real desire over the months of competing with Ino.

"Mmm. That doesn't sound like a sustainable goal." The smug, self satisfaction of throwing her own words back at her was so thick, she could have sliced it open with her kunai. "Do you have an objective measurement?"

"I'm going to beat Ino in every conceivable field."

"Tch. So you are going to break up the team." Sasuke's voice when from smug to cold so quickly it gave her emotional whiplash. Suddenly, he was all brittle tension.

"What? No!" She protested. Arguing with Sasuke was worse that sparing with him. She hadn't been able to get a firm foothold since he arrived.

"Then why are you competing with an Intelligence ninja? Ino's. . . fine, but," He made a dismissive gesture and Sakura's heart soared despite her anger and discomfort. Someone didn't think Ino was so great. Sasuke didn't think Ino was better than her. Oh, Sakura might not be good, but at least Ino wasn't either. "You need a rival who can actually push you."

"Oh yeah? Like who?"

"Me."

For the second time that evening, Sakura felt like she had been punched in the gut by a single syllable.

"You?" She squeaked.

"Hn." Sasuke nodded and glanced over at her for the first time in their conversation. "If you want."

"No, yes. I-" Her brain finally caught up to her mouth and made her pause, "Wait. If I'm such a bad ninja, how am I going to push you."

Sasuke glanced down to where he was still clutching at the trunk of the tree and slowly unwrapped his hand. Sakura used the pause to try and take stock of the conversation. Sasuke wanted her as a rival? Her? That was-

This was almost better than if he asked her on a date.

"My chakra control's not good." He finally admitted, though from the grimace on his face the admission was physically painful. "The dobe didn't even know how to channel chakra into his feet until two days ago and I'm still not beating him. But you were up the tree almost before Kakashi finished explaining. It's pathetic. And if I'm going to start medic training after we become Chunin I need almost perfect control."

Huh. Sasuke actually wanted to pursue becoming a medic nin. Not just the first aid provider of the team, but a fully fledged, hospital trained medic nin. Sakura couldn't quite see it.

"Ok-" Sakura began.

"And you're smart." Sasuke frowned at her as if this was her fault, "You're interested in things that I wouldn't even think to ask about- like the dobe's clones."

"Ok?" Sakura hesitated, half hoping that Sasuke would interrupt her with another compliment. But he didn't. "I'm also better at people."

"Naruto's better at people than you."

Sakura opened her mouth to correct him, but, upon thinking about it decided it wasn't worth debating. "I'm still better than you." She finally concluded and Sasuke only grunted in dismissal.

Sakura glanced down at the forehead protector in her hands, then resolutely tied it back around her head. She stood up and stretched, feeling the strength return to her limbs after sitting in the cold night air for so long. Then she glanced down at where Sasuke was glowering at her feet, balanced on the thin boughs easily.

"Can I check some assumptions with you?"

"Hn." Sure.

"Do you prefer long hair?"

"Hn." I don't really care.

"Do you prefer slender girls?"

"Hn." Same answer as above.

"Do you prefer feminine and gentle girls?"

"Hn?" What?

Ok. Well, clearly Ino and Ame were off their rockers all through the Academy. Sakura retied her hair back into a low ponytail and felt rather annoyed with herself. How long had she been operation on terrible intelligence about Sasuke's preference- defining her entire life around what was now obviously only guesses and assumptions.

"Alright, one last question." She narrowed her eyes down at him. "Is it true that boys like a girl who can challenge them but will always let them win?"

Sasuke frowned at her for a second and then pulled the side of his mouth into a smirk.

"Sakura," He carefully rose to his feet until they were almost level, "If you beat me at a challenge that isn't about chakra control or intelligence, I'll-"

"Go get a manicure with me?" Sakura interrupted brightly, "And let me choose the color."

Sasuke stared at her in shock but Sakura couldn't contain the delight that was rising out of the pit of her stomach. Maybe it was emotional overload of her brain, but after the stress of the day, the despair of Kakashi's lecture, and the anger, then relief, at Sasuke's words- she was as giddy as a toddler. Sasuke wanted her as a rival. Sasuke was willing to bribe her with rewards for challenges. There was no limit to the fun she could have.

"Fine." He finally allowed and glared at her.

"Hell yeah!" She cheered. Now they would see if there was anything sillier than an Uchiha in nail polish. "Ok. First challenge- who can get back to the house first."

Then, before Sasuke could protest, she kicked off the branch and flung herself into the empty air. After all, Sasuke thought she was smart. She'd figure out a way to hit the ground gently.

"Sakura!"

0X0X0X0

"Sakura!"

Sasuke won that challenge.

Oh, Sakura reached the ground first. It wasn't, she realized, that difficult to slow your descent with the generous application of tree walking to the branches she dodged on the way down. She had hit the forest floor and was running towards the house faster and harder than she ever had in her life before Sasuke even was half way down the tree.

But her fastest and hardest was neither that fast nor that hard, Sakura quickly realized. And she was pretty sure that Sasuke was just taunting her by running just a few steps ahead of her the entire time. Which meant she couldn't slow down. Or take a breather. Or do anything but push herself just a bit faster when that stupid fan was just a few feet ahead of her.

Which meant that she was red faced and breathing like a cow in labor by the time they both arrived in the back yard (Sasuke unruffled, Sakura almost stumbling). Which meant that Naruto, who had been waiting anxiously on the front porch, had freaked out, sweeping her up into a bone crushing hug while demanding that Sasuke heal her.

"M-finm, Naruto." She finally pushed him away enough to take a full breath, "I'm fine. Sorry I ran off. I just need-"

"Needed some space," Naruto finished for her, then leaned in to whisper, "Did that teme apologize like I told him to?"

"Yep." She glanced over at where Sasuke was standing a little ways away. "We're good."

A/N: A return to your regularly scheduled fluff. Sort of.

If I ever go back and rework this story, I'll clean up this chapter emotionally. It's all over th place as a direct consequence of writing it over the course of many days. Do any of you authors have tips on how to keep an emotional focus or tone of a chapter?

Also, I was playing with Sakura having her inner voice as well in this chapter. It might be the big difference between her and the boys- their internal monologues are super depressing and hers is fiesty. Which can also be a problem, because contentment doesn't push you to succeed. Let me know if it workwd for you.

Have a great week you guys! I am loving all the reviews and comments! Next up- the final battle.


	26. Chapter 26

Sakura POV

"Ok, cute little genin, listen up."

At her sensei's words, Sakura gratefully jumped out of the tree and then collapsed to her knees, breathing hard. Her shirt was soaked with sweat and her hair was matted into an itchy mess on the back of her neck.

Maybe being Sasuke Uchiha's rival wasn't the best idea in the world.

He had woken them up at dawn, like he had promised. But while yesterday, Sakura had complained about the early hour, this morning she kept her mouth resolutely shut and annoyance to herself when Sasuke started them off on a light run through the woods.

Light, her foot.

There were stitches in her stitches by the time they finished their mad dash through the forest. Even Naruto seemed winded. They finally collapsed in the middle of the clearing, but Sakura didn't allow herself to stay sitting for long- she couldn't as Sasuke's rival.

When Sasuke suggested an insane game of tag with shuriken and penalties if you touched the ground, she agreed. And when Naruto complained of the unfair advantage that gave the two of them, Sakura caught Sasuke's glance and allowed that it would give Naruto great incentive. Didn't he learn better under pressure anyways? She didn't miss the strange glance he sent her.

But then Sasuke threw a handful of shuriken at her and she needed to jump into the trees or risk explaining to Kakashi why her ninja skills were so lacking as to both mess up their mission and be hit during a simple game of tag. The talk with Naruto and explanation of her new rivalry would have to wait for a later time.

Kakashi POV

"As glad as I am that you all are taking your warm up exercises seriously," Kakashi swept his eyes over his sweating, crumpled genin. "Please remember that you are not safely at Konoha and, thus, need to have enough energy to complete our mission. And what is our mission, Sakura-chan?"

"To protect Tazuna-san as he completes the bridge." Sakura's tone was neutral but not flat. He cast a quick glance at the pink haired girl and saw that she was staring levelly back at him. Whatever conclusions she had come to after running off last night had stiffened her resolve rather than broke her.

Good, he wouldn't want to be the one to explain to the Hokage why the famous Team Seven had broken up.

"Correct." He shifted to lean back against the tree, "Now, I know yesterday I said we were going to continue searching for Inari, but I've changed my mind. Despite the similarity to the other missing children, we can't rule out the chance that this was politically motivated."

"Wait! What do you mean?" Naruto sat up and squinted at him.

Kami protect him, but it was a good thing Naruto was friends with Sakura. If there had ever been a more ignorant Academy graduate, Kakashi had yet to hear about it. He glanced at Sakura to explain, but was surprised when Sasuke spoke up first.

"Someone might have kidnapped the kid to put pressure on the bridge builder," Sasuke said. Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow.

"Correct."

Sasuke gave Sakura a superior look, but she only smiled sweetly back at him.

"But if that's the case, then it's likely they will send a ransom note at some point, which might give us some clues as to his whereabouts."

"Also, correct."

A scowl replaced Sasuke's smug look and it was Sakura's turn to look faintly superior. Ok…. Kakashi glanced between the two genin, but then sighed. Not worth the mental effort at the moment.

"Oh! Oh! So then we just pay the ransom and get Inari back and everything will be ok! Believe it!"

"Not quite." Kakashi said.

Naruto collapsed to the ground with a huff. "Why not!"

"Naruto, what if the ransom is more than Tazuna can afford? He's not very wealthy. Or what if they want him to stop building the bridge?" Sakura asked. "Plus, it sets a bad precedent to negotiate with kidnappers. If people think it's an effective negotiating tool, you'll see a huge upswing in kidnapping and-"

"Sakura." Naruto had sat up slowly and was staring at Sakura in confusion, "Sakura, we're talking about Inari. Not some random problem in your text book! What if the kidnappers threaten to kill him!"

The kunoichi blanched and glanced at Kakashi for guidance. But Kakshi only stared back impassively. The answer was obvious to him, but this was a good chance to see if Sakura had learned her lesson from last night. When Sasuke opened his mouth to answer, Kakashi motioned him to be silent. Sakura needed to answer this on her own.

"Naruto. . . " Sakura glanced at the boy then at the ground, "That's- that's not our decision to make. Tazuna-san hired us to protect him while he built the bridge. If he decides not to build the bridge, because of a ransom. . ."

"But Inari-"

"Would be returned if the demands of the ransom were met." Sasuke cut in with a glare at Kakashi as that would prevent him from shushing him again. Kakashi just blinked at him.

"But the villagers- they need the bridge to be built!"

"Naruto," Sakura looked pleadingly at her team mate, "We don't even know if the bridge would really help. . ."

The blond genin looked back and forth between his team mates, one coolly impassive and one apologetic. His face was contorted in a deep frown and he stared at Sauske with great suspicion. But finally, he came to a conclusion and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Right."

"Maaa…." Kakshi reached down and rumpled Sakura's head to cut through the tension. "You all look so gloomy. The reason I came out here today is because Uhei thought he picked up a scent trail on the northern side of the island. We're going to track it today."

"Awesome!" Naruto was suddenly all smiles and excitement. Kakashi had to bite back a smile, it was so easy to keep Naruto in good spirits, "When do we head out? I can make clones-"

"Actually, I'll be going alone." Kakashi said. Sakura sent him a concerned glance, "Since we can't rule out the kidnapping as a blackmail attempt, I need you three to be on guard duty at the bridge today."

"Lame!" Naruto complained, scowling at him. "We should be doing something important!"

"Guarding the bridge is important, dobe."

"Sakura," Kakashi patted his kunoichi's head on least time, "You have the most experience in guard duty, so you'll be team leader today. Do you think you can do that?" Unasked was the question if she could stick to the actual mission. Sakura hesitated, but then nodded firmly. Her expression changed to one of set resolve.

"Good!" Kakashi grinned at all three of them, "I'll see you this evening. Work together and there's nothing you can't handle."

Sakura's POV

"Ah! It's such a nice day, isn't it? Eh, old man?" Naruto tried for the sixth time in as many minutes to engage Tazuna in conversation. But the old bridge builder ignored him.

This morning he seemed older than ever. His eyes were deeply lined and his shoulders bowed. If she thought that his pace was slow coming from Konoha, it was plodding now. Still, with her muscles still sore from her mad race in the woods last night, Sakura didn't mind the speed.

She did mind the oppressive quiet. Tazuna's grief was understandable, but it weighed on her guilt like an extra tonne.

"Wow! That is a great tree- don't you-"

"Naruto." Sakura interrupted the boy's latest desperate attempt to cheer up the old man and shook her head at him. Naruto sighed and shoved his hands in his pocket but didn't attempt to point out the sparkly rock, fluffy cloud, or whatever of the other half dozen mundane objects that attracted his fascination. Sakura took his place next to the bridge builder's side.

"Tazuna-san, I don't know if Kakashi told you, but one of his dogs picked up a scent on the northern side of the island. He's gone to go investigate, so there is a chance that he might find Inari." Not a large chance, but surely some hope was better than nothing? Kakashi might not approve of her sharing this information, but at least this time she wasn't making any promises or giving the old man false hope.

She was rewarded with a bleary look. The man didn't look like he had slept much at all the past night. Though from the scent of old sake on his breath, it wasn't hard to divine what he had spent his time doing.

"You'ra good kid, Sakura." He slurred, "How old are ya?"

Sakura blinked in confusion, "I'm twelve."

"Twelve," Tazuna shook his head, "Twelve and worrying about old men like me. Inari- Inari was eight. Did you know that?" The man's voice broke on the name of his grandson.

"Not much younger than you," the man continued, "You shouldn't be here. You're twelve. You should be at- at school. Having fun. Worrying about boys and- and- not worrying about missing kids and learning how to kill. S'not right. S'not right at all." He sighed heavily and fell silent. Sakura cast a concerned glance towards Naruto who only shrugged in response.

"Hey- hey! Old man. Check out- uh-check out this leaf! These are some pretty weird holes aren't they?"

Tazuna didn't respond.

Naruto's POV

Finally, they reached the bridge! Naruto cheered and ran ahead- glad to finally be done with the escort service from the house.

(If you were any good you'd have cheered Tazuna up.)

Yeah, it had hurt a little bit when Kakashi had made Sakura team captain because she had more guarding experience. Not that she didn't deserve to be team captain, because she was smart and awesome even if she was acting super weird lately. But he had spent the last four days guarding the bridge with his clones when Sakura had only spent the first day, but-

(But not even your Sensei recognizes you or your skill. Overlooked. Again.)

But that didn't matter!

"Oi! Oi! Hey everyone! It's me in person this time!"

Though he only got hazy memories from his clones when they dissipated at the end of the day, after four days of guarding the bridge, he knew all of the workers names and they knew his. They were an awesome group of people- almost as happy to answer his questions as Sakura! And they loved old man Tazuna. If any group of guys could cheer up the old man, it would be them!

But none of them looked up when the four approached.

Maybe they hadn't heard Nartuo!

"Hey! Isamu- how is that arm doing? Oh-Shirou- gonna finish the beam support today?"

But Isamu didn't look up from where he was mixing the cement and Shirou, who only yesterday had been teaching Naruto dirty fishing songs, turned away at his approach.

(Same as the village. Same everywhere you go. You can fool them for a little, but they will figure you out eventually. Why did you expect anything else?)

"Um. Guys what's going on?" Naruto glanced around the milling crowd of bridge workers, but no one returned his glance or appeared to hear him.

(You aren't deserving of the attention.)

Was there some sort of genjutsu? Yeah. That had to be it. They were stuck in some illusion.

"Hey, Sakura. I think they are under a genjutsu-"

But he was struck silent by the hard expression on Sakura's face. Her lips were drawn into a thin line as she turned to the old man. It was as though the sun had gone out of the sky, to be replaced with thick clouds. Actually, it was super misty here on the water.

"Tazuna-san, would you please speak to your laborers."

"Actually, we want to talk to you, ninja-san." Gorou stood up and stepped to the front of the group. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at Sakura. Naruto was suddenly struck by how short they all were compared to the men, but Sakura only stared back at him levelly as though she were the taller one.

"Yes, Gorou-san?"

"You promised that you would help us find the kids. So, where are they?" He glared down at the kunoichi and Naruto had to repress the urge to jump in front of Sakura and tell him to back off. Instead he glanced around.

Huh, it was really misty. But it hadn't been misty this morning at the house.

"We have not been able to find them. I am very sorry." Sakura's voice was calm. "Right now our sensei is following up on a lead regarding Inari and we have been sent here to guard you from any threats."

"Sakura-" Naruto tugged on her sleeve wanting to point out the gathering mist, but Sakura shrugged his hand off.

(How can you even trust that you know what is going on? Maybe you're wrong. Maybe you should just stay quiet?)

"Not now, Naruto." She hissed, eyes not leaving Gorou's. But Sasuke had noticed the mist as well and exchanged a quick glance with Naruto.

(Now she won't even listen to you.)

"Protect us?"

Gorou spat on the ground, "How are three kids supposed to protect us? You can't even-"

"Sakura!"

A huge sword landed between them- sinking into the concrete as easily as if the bridge were made of soft cheese. Naruto grabbed the back of his team mate's shirt and hauled her away from the man and the sword- back to the formation around the old man.

"Long time, no see, you brats!"

A/N: And the plot actually progresses! What is this nonsense? Between this and the next chapter, I was experimenting with bouncing around more between perspectives to keep the chapter interesting and moving ahead. Any thoughts?

As always, you guys are the reason that writing is so much fun. I love to hear what you liked, didn't like and what you would like to see more of. Happy December 1st!


	27. Chapter 27

_Haku POV_

"Arg. This waiting is boring. You should of just let me kill the civilians." Zabuza leaned against the pillar of the bridge, balancing lightly on the surface of the water and tapping his fingers on the pommel of his great sword.

"You're still recovering, Zabuza-san." Haku was standing further out on the water, acting as a look out. There was a flicker of movement in the woods and he saw the telltale flash of pink hair. His stomach knotted a little more in anticipation of their upcoming fight. "I am still not sure that you are well enough to fight at all. It has only been six days."

"Ha. Like the civilians would have put up a fight." Zabuza laughed harshly and glanced at the forest. The four enemy stepped from the woods and onto the bridge. Haku counted the girl, Sakura, and her two precious teammates, but not their sensei. His stomach sunk further.

"But we won't be fighting civilians."

Zabuza had also seen the enemy emerge and sunk back against the pillar, satisfied. "See, I told you we shouldn't have waited the extra day. That sneaky bastard Kakashi probably figured out that you faked my death. But he'd be expecting a full week for recovery. We got the one up on him."

The water trembled under their feet as Zabuza ran through the hand seals for Hidden Mist No Jutsu. The world slowly turned white and soft as first the horizon, then the shore, then even the pillars disappeared in the thick mist. Haku moved closer to his mentor in order not to lose track of him.

"Alright. Ready Haku?" Zabuza glanced down at him and Haku nodded despite his tight throat.

"Zabuza-san- please remember what I asked for?"

Zabuza rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure. Go up. Strike some terror in the civilians. Kill the bridge builder."

"And." Haku prompted.

"And if the brats don't interfere, don't kill them." He suddenly grinned and ruffled Haku's hair. "Haku- you're a good kid."

Haku glanced down at his hands and shook his head. "No, I'm not."

He had always believed that bloodied hands were the sign of a strong ninja even if the nightmares turned his stomach. With the number of deaths to his name, he was a good ninja. A good weapon. But he wasn't a good kid.

But maybe he could be.

"Zabuza- san?" Haku glanced at the older man as they prepared to run up to the bridge, "After this mission, could we take a mission that…. Helps people?"

"Sure kid. Whatever you want."

They disappeared silently into the mist.

 _Sakura POV_

"Long time, no see brats!"

He was back.

(Her breath when shallow and her hands began to shake.)

The mist. The voice. The sword. He was back.

(Her stomach rebelled, bile filling her mouth as her knees went weak)

Kakashi was nowhere to be found. Off on the other side of the island. Out of reach. Out of hearing. They were alone. Completely alone.

(Her head was light, her hearing was sharp, her eyes brightening from the adrenaline pouring into her system.)

It wasn't fair that this almost felt normal.

"Manji formation," She snapped and Naruto and Sauske fell back, kunai out and eyes searching through the thick haze of the mist for the next attack. They couldn't see anything, not even the civilians that had been standing just a few dozen feet away. But they could use that to their advantage.

"Naruto, create some clones as a distraction."

"On it!" One ram seal and a burst of chakra later and a dozen clones surrounded them. Sakura grabbed one before it could dash into the mist on its suicide mission of distraction. Both Naruto's sent her a confused look.

"Wha-"

"Naruto- you need to go find Kakashi. If you can find him fast enough-" She didn't need to finish the thought because Naruto nodded seriously. But he hadn't taken a step before he was sent tumbling back.

Out of the mist, five Zabuza approached and Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. Water clones. They had to be water clones. But creating five of them? The chakra requirements left her dizzy.

"Sa-"

"Go it." Sasuke interrupted. Sakura glanced over and saw that her dark haired team mate was almost smiling, even as his hands were trembling. Was he- no, no time to wonder about Sasuke's mental health in the middle of a battle. Afterwards they would talk.

If there was an afterwards.

"Naruto, when Sasuke attacks, you escape- ok?" Both Naruto's nodded and Sakura took a deep breath. It was a stop gap at best. But if they could just manage to hold out until Kakashi arrived- "Ok- go!"

Sasuke blurred into motion, moving too fast for her to follow while Naruto created a dozen more clones that ran to intercept the Zabuza clones or slip past them and into the woods. Sakura stepped back to protect Tazuna and raised her kunai higher.

The clones were destroyed easily: Zabuza's disappearing in splashes of water and Naruto's in puffs of smoke as senbon needles clattered to the ground.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow you to fetch your sensei, ninja-san." A small figure stepped out of the mist and Sakura felt a thrill of dread, though not of surprise, run down her spine. Of course, the hunter nin who "killed" Zabuza would be here. They were no longer fighting against the odds, but against the impossible.

"Naruto-" She called out, ready to tell him to stand down, but Naruto was already creating a dozen more clones out of his near limitless chakra reserves. The clones all reached into their packs and pulled out handfuls of shuriken, kunai and senbon needles. The missing-nin evaded them easily.

"You'll have to try harder than tha-"

"Oh, I wasn't trying to hit you!" Naruto grinned at the masked ninja, "I was just trying to get past you!" Further down the bridge, one of the shuriken suddenly transformed into Naruto, pulled a face, and disappeared down the bridge and into the mist. Relief flooded through Sakura like sunshine. Now, if they could just hold out until Naruto was able to find Kakashi, they might survive.

Before the masked ninja could turn to chase after the real Naruto, Sakura threw a handful of kunai to cut off Naruto's path.

"Don't forget about us!"

"That was a mistake, Sakura." The hunter nin turned back to her- mask peering eerily out of the mist and voice soft. Sakura froze at the use of her name, but before she could react the masked ninja's hands were flying through a series of seals. He tapped his foot against the ground rapidly. "Flying Water Needles no Jutsu."

 _Haku's POV_

It was admirable, how hard they were all working trying to fulfill their mission even without the presence of their sensei. Haku had lost count of how many grown ninjas had given up and begged for their lives when facing off against the Demon of the Mist. But it looked like the thought of surrendering hadn't even crossed Sakura's mind.

He wished it would- for the sake of her precious team mates.

Still, what terror and water clones couldn't accomplish, his Flying Water Needles would. It was his favorite technique- the only one he had put the deep effort into to learn how to cast one handed. All you needed was a puddle of water and enough humidity to give the needles form and Haku had a hundred, sliver sharp senbon to control.

"Tazuna-san, get down!" the pink haired girl pushed the target to the ground and covered him with her own body. Very well. He had enough control to ensure that there would be no permanent damage.

The senbon crashed down and the small figure was obscured by a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Haku saw that Sakura's blond friend had thrown himself and his clones in the path of the senbon to protect the target. That was two- where was-

Haku had to suddenly leap backwards to avoid the shuriken that embedded themselves in the bridge where he was standing. The dark haired boy- Sasuke- dropped out of the sky, kunai in hand and feral smile on his lips.

"I'm your opponent now."

 _Naruto's POV_

(You failed. You failed to protect her.)

"Sakura?"

(She's dead and everyone will blame you. The only friend and she's gone.)

"Naruto?" She opened her eyes slowly, blinking as she took in the mess. Her forearms were peppered with a dozen small wounds from where he hadn't been able to cover her with a clone, but she was ok. She was ok and that was all that mattered. But then her eyes flew open in fright.

(She's been hurt. You could have done something to protect her but she's hurt)

"Naruto! What are you doing here?" She demanded, voice tight and shrill with fright, "You're supposed to be finding Kakashi-sensei!"

"Like hell am I going to abandon you guys!" Naruto protested, "That was a clone!"

"You idiot!" She punched his shoulder, but the hit was weak from her angle. "What if Kakashi is out of your clone's range? Or if he falls or- or- Naruto!" She shoved him off her and sat up quickly, eyes nearly blind in the thick mist. She was muttering something under her breath, but Naruto couldn't hear until he leaned in.

"Think-think-think-think- ok." She glanced up, hands falling from the sides of her head and stared into the mist. "None of us can see. What we can't see we can't fight. Therefore we need to get rid of the mist. Therefore I need Sasuke- Naruto please find him."

"What! Why!"

"Fireball!" She waved her hands around, "Burns off the mist!"

(Useless. You saved her life and she still prefers him.)

"On it, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura was already turning towards Tazuna and shaking his shoulder. "Tazuna- san, please come with me, we need to get to the edge of the bridge."

 _Sasuke's POV_

The hunter nin was fast, but Sasuke was faster.

(Itatchi had been fast. Sasuke had spied on his training one day and his brother had attacked the target so quickly that the eye couldn't track, but within a few seconds the target was nothing but scraps of straw.)

The hunter nin used senbon, but shuriken were more dangerous.

("Senbon, Sasuke, have their uses. They are precise and in that precision deadly, especially when coated in poison.")

Sparks flew when senbon met kunai. They danced across the bridge- almost dancing on the air as they leapt, attacked and countered. The ground was littered with discarded weapons and his own pouch was growing light, but there seemed no way to break this impasse.

"Sasuke!" Naruto's voice cut through the mist. Then Sasuke felt a hand on his shoulder, shoving him down as Naruto leapt over him. The boy's foot smashed into the missing nin-s mask and shattered it. Naruto tumbled away and came up in a fighting stance. Fingers already in the familiar ram seal. "Sakura needs you. I've got this guy."

"Hn." And Sasuke leapt into mist leaving the fight in Naruto's hands.

 _Sakura POV_

They had found the edge of the bridge. Good. She positioned Tazuna with his back to the empty air and planted herself before him. Eyes and ears straining for some sign of Zabuza. It was still possible that he could approach from over the side of the bridge, but it seemed less likely than having an extra blind spot.

"There you are."

Not that that helped at all, when Zabuza did appear out of the mist- the sword almost larger than he was and certainly taller than her. Sakura forced herself to keep breathing as the missing nin shouldered the sword like it was made of cotton.

"Look kid. For whatever reason, Haku's taken a shine to you and your friends. So just step out of the way and I'll let you guys live."

Haku? Sakura blinked, but didn't move. "I can't do that. As a ninja of Konoha-"

"Kid, are you fucking kidding me?" Zabuza laughed. "You think Konoha gives a fuck about you? Keep that up and you're going to get sent on missions so bloody you'll make my hands look as clean as Haku's."

"N-not Konoha," Sakura protested.

"You're right. They're probably worse there. Have to be, to keep the Hidden Leaf as a major power. Man the stories I could tell you from the war," Zabuza shook his head and took his sword down from his shoulder. Sakura's kunai suddenly seemed terribly small. "Now, are you going to give up the stupid bravado and let me kill this poor bastard?"

"N-no." Sakura braced herself to meet the fight.

Zabuza shrugged, "Your choice."

And he charged.

 _Sasuke's POV_

Blood thrumming his veins-

(Just as it did that night. Running through the bloody compound)

Edges sharpened to a knifes edge-

("Fighting- don't be so eager to get into a fight Sasuke")

Eyes aching from the effort to peer through the mist-

("Don't get too attached Sasuke- It's better not to love")

The mist slowly parted, rolling away as the jutsu evaporated. The sun shone clearly, glinting off the bright blade-

(He had kept his blade so clean ,it turned candle light sharp)

\- the dark red stain slowly being absorbed into the metal surface-

(The dark red stain spreading slowly across their living room)

\- the empty space where his team mate had stood-

(Hours spent staring at the kitchen floor, waiting for his mother to return)

\- Empty space-

(His father never sat on the front porch)

\- Where his team mate-

(H(His brother never met him at the school gates)

-h-had stood-

PaPain bloomed bright behind his eyes.

"SAKURA!"

 _Naruto POV_

"SAKURA!"

(What happened?)

The raw scream tore across the suddenly visible bridge. Naruto dodged out from behind the pile of lumber he had hidden behind has he sent wave after wave to harass the strangely familiar looking ninja.

(What did you let happen?)

Across the bridge, Zabuza stood, staring over the edge of the bridge- sword held loosely in one fist. From the sword, a few, final drops of blood slid down the edge and fell to the floor.

(Where was Sakura!)

There was blood on the ground. Fresh blood. But no Sakura.

(WHERE WAS SAKURA!)

Deep inside, something cracked.

Then, there was only heat and pain.

A/N: A cliffhanger that isn't part of cannon!? This is the last of my banked NaNoWriMo writings, so the resolution might be a bit in coming.

Re: Ann (guest) review: thank you for your feedback on the different perspectives. Having Naruto and Sasuke's different internal monologues helps me get into their different head spaces, but is there a way I can maybe format the parentheticals that would be less grating or jarring? I do agree that now they are established, it's time to be a little more creative with the internal monologues, so let me know if you have any ideas for that as well!

As always, thank you everyone for your responses. I love hearing your thoughts on what worked, what didn't work, and what you would like to see more of! Hope you all are having a wonderful day!


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Alright, lovely readers, this is where the story goes off the tracks a bit and becomes AU. It is intentionally written in a confusing, fragmented nature because... that is the only way my brain let me write it. Be warned! (Thanks animegirl315 for the suggestion)

I.

It was strange, but as she fell, she smelled cherry blossoms.

II.

"I just wanted him to have hope, you know?" Tazuna-san's tear stained face was turned towards her but his eyes were fixed on sweet memories, "That's why I was building the bridge. So Inari wouldn't turn bitter and jaded. Like me. And now he's- he's-"

The old man broke into painful tears and Sakura reached out a hand to cup his cheek. His skin felt soft as petals and for a moment a young Inari appeared, grinning and waving just out of reach. He vanished in a swirl of white.

"Tazuna-san, do you recognize that ship docked beneath the bridge?"

III.

Had they fallen through a vacuum, her blood would have hit the water at the same time as their bodies. But the air friction supported each droplet, leaving a trail of glistening red jewels as an echo of her descent.

The combined weight of both bodies accelerating at the rate of gravity from the height of the bridge would. . . necessitate a closed coffin, Sakura thought hazily. They might not find all the pieces.

Unless. . .

The image of Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza standing as easily on the surface of the lake as on dry land rose around her, almost tangible in its clarity. If you could walk up trees, could you walk on water? Ninja's might not be heroes or gods, but. . .

Her body was already twisting in the fall.

Her chakra was already pooling at her feet.

Her mind was already calculating the ratio and rate of dispersion.

When she landed with Tazuna draped boneless across her back, she barely made a ripple, but her hands were already running through the vanishing leaf jutsu, adding extra chakra to the hare seal to encompass their client from clever eyes that could peer through the mist.

IV.

Had there always been cherry trees in these woods?

Sakura shook her head, ignoring the urge to itch her painful forehead, and tugged on Tazuna's wrist, urging him wordlessly to run faster through the wavering forest.

They needed to reach the house. He would be safe at the house- surrounded by traps and guarded by Tsunami. Once settled there, she could return to the bridge. Return to her team mates.

Sakura easily leapt over the battered body of Naruto and watched it vanish into nothing.

V.

"Are you sure we can't cut her? Just a little?"

"No, idiot. We need her as blackmail."

Sakura heard something pop in Tazuna's arm as she jerked him behind a thick tree at the sound of the two voices coming up the path. She felt nauseous. The woods were swimming around her- as insubstantial as dreams- and her head felt as though it was splitting open.

Two men- samurai by their swords- stepped around the corner and between them was the bound figure of Tsunami. At her side, Tazuna started shout, but she slapped her hand over his mouth before he could call out. His fear rippled through her like a punch and Sakura gasped. The image of the house, empty and silent, rose around her and faded in a breath.

"Stop!"

Sakura stumbled out of the bushes- her last kunai held in bloody hands as she stared down the two larger samurai. The taller one gave her a dismissive look and his eyes widened at the same time as the white haired one gasped in recognition. Both their eyes were fixed on her forehead.

"My lady," They fell to their knees and Sakura blinked at them in confusion. Behind them, the giant fir trees twisted and bent into gnarled a cherry tree. The white blossoms floating down to cover the path. Sakura blinked again and the forest reappeared.

"My lady, have our orders changed?" The white haired one whispered. "We are following the instructions you and your order have relayed to Gato-sama."

"Oh?" Her forehead ached terribly. When she brushed her hand across her brow, she felt a strange, raised ridge. Had she bumped her head? It would explain her vision.

"Tazuna brought the Konoha ninja's back, just like you wanted." The tall one cut in. "We hired the missing mist ninja too."

Yes, yes she had been fighting them.

"And now they are on the bridge. Phase II is ready to begin. Gato's gathered there with the rest of the Ronin." The white haired one, clearly the better informed, was staring at her- no at her forehead- with bright eyes. "We are ready to undertake the First Battle in the new era of the Samurai."

"The first battle?" Sakura repeated, struggling to make sense of the words. She had never seen, much less spoken to this man before. But the man seemed oblivious to her confusion.

"Yes. The battle to prove the superiority of the samurai to the ninja scum. It is the battle that will destabilize the entire ninja world and bring about the collapse of the ninja! Wave Country will become a beacon of hope and honor in this damaged world. "

"And Tsunami?" Sakura gestured to the girl. The ground under her feet suddenly turned into a grassy field- the lawn spreading out through the trees like a wave. Sakura felt dizzy and fought the urge to sit down. The tall samurai looked confused.

"The girl? It's to make the old man break his contract with those bastard ninjas." His face lit with a happy smile, "Then, we get to kill them all. The creepy one and the kids and the villagers. I want the masked one's sword."

"My lady, may I be so bold as to request a favor?" The white haired one cut in, "Before I fight this battle, will you take me to the Sakura fields again?" His hope was almost palpable in the air.

VI.

This time, when she blinked, the bodies did not fade. They lay there, motionless and cooling, the ice shards stained red from the fresh blood.

The figure behind them also didn't disappear, though the trees behind him shifted and flickered between the deep green of summer and the light pink of spring.

"Y-yuki?"

"What are you?" The boy stepped forward- and a sweet breeze washed over them. Sakura blinked and the grassy meadow sprouted and shrank back in a breath. "I saw the blood on Zabuza's blade. You shouldn't be alive."

Sakura glanced down at the tatters of her shirt, realizing, for the first time, that it was almost falling off. There had been blood, but there was no wound now. Instead, dark red markings flowed over her skin. They followed no logical path, growing almost organically from where the sword had grazed her. If she hadn't jumped back, pushing Tazuna over the bridge with her, it would have done more than graze.

"I-" She blinked and the markings on her skin flickered and shifted like shadows under a great tree, "I- don't-"

"And how do you know these-?" Yuki nudged the dead Samurai with a sandaled foot.

"I don't-" Her head was pounding. Thoughts too fleeting to catch. There was something here. Something that was important, but it hovered beyond the borders of her mind. "What are you- you're dressed like that hunter nin- but you killed Zabuza and now you're-"

"It was for his own protection. If he had continued to fight, he would have been killed. " Yuki looked away from the dead men on the ground and his expression hardened when he saw Tazuna undoing his daughters bonds. " I still have to finish his mission."

"I can't let you do that." The pain in her forehead was excruciating, like her head was split open. Sakura collapsed to her knees from the pain.

VII.

Tazuna and Tsunami had disappeared. They vanished into the air as the trees twisted and swam into focus. Sakura and Yuki were alone in a grassy meadow, bordered on all sides by old cherry trees. Their scent filled the air and their petals drifted down silently. Sakura blinked, but this time, the images remained steady.

"Kai!" Yuki glanced around wildly when his genjutsu dispersal did nothing. He brought his hands up again. "KAI!"

There was no change. The wind blew, ruffling their hair and then Sakura realized that the meadow was completely quiet. No birds sung in the trees. No leaves whispered together in the breeze. Her harsh breaths were the only things she heard.

"What is going on?" Yuki dropped his hands and turned to Sakura. "What are you doing?" She could only shake her head.

"I don't know-"

VIII.

The Ice Release technique doesn't require pre-existing water. Ice can be made from chakra alone, but it takes time. The seals for the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals take longer still. Even at blinding speeds, Yuki still needed to make 21 mirrors from his own chakra.

Sakura only needed one touch.

IX.

 _A dark haired woman with unbounded hair and loose, practical clothing. Her dark eyes were filled with tears as she looked past them._

"Mother."

 _A dark haired man, taller than the woman, also barefoot. Also in simple, peasant clothing. Deep lines of regret marred his face._

"Father."

 _Haku, I am so sorry. I should have told you earlier, warned you about our blood line rather than let you discover it yourself._

"Mother-"

 _Haku, forgive me. I was so terrified. The ninja had taken so much in their wars. Our world was destroyed. I was possessed by the fear. I forgot that you were my son._

"Fa-"

 _Haku, I am so proud of you. You may be the best of the Yuki. Your blood is a gift._

"Ma-"

 _Haku, create a world where my fear could not have grown._

"I-"

 _Haku, you are loved._

"Wai-"

 _Haku, my fear won, but I did love you._

"WAIT!"

X.

A stinging slap snapped her back to consciousness. Tsunami knelt over her, eyes wide with concern. When she saw Sakura's eyes open, the woman helped her to a sitting position.

"W-what happened?" she asked. Her limbs felt like jelly, but the splitting pain in her head was gone and her thinking was clear once more. Tsunami exchanged a quick glance with Tazuna who was standing at the edge of the road, prodding the two dead bodies.

"You were talking and then went completely still. Like you were carved from stone. Then the thing in your forehead and all the weird skin markings disappeared and you collapse. That one," She nodded to the other end of the road where Yuki- no, Haku- was huddled around himself. Shoulders shaking softly. "She hasn't stopped crying."

"He," Sakura corrected automatically as she struggled to sit up properly. Her muscles complained that they were the consistency of gelatin. "Could you help me stand?"

Tsunami nodded and pulled Sakura to standing. On her feet, Sakura felt slightly more steady as she made her way slowly to where the boy was sitting.

"Haku?" She asked, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Do you- do you remember-"

"Was it real?" The boy's voice was gentler than normal, "Was that a genjutsu or was- was it real?"

Sakura hesitated as she tried to collect the scattered fragments of her memories. Memories. Hadn't she seen a memory of Inari as a child when she touched Tazuna on the shore?

"I think they are built from your memories." She suggested.

"They never said anything like that!"

"The human brain takes in so much more information than it can consciously process. It was probably your mind reconstructing old data in a new matrix?" Sakura said, remembering a text book on psychology, then added when she saw Haku's blank look, "You're probably remembering the real feelings your parents had, but with a more mature mindset?"

"So my parents did love me?" Haku asked. "Even though I-"

"Of course they did!" Sakura said firmly. "They're your parents."

Haku was silent for a moment, but it only took a few moments for him to calm his breath and wipe his eyes clear.

"I think, it might not be enough to just protect my precious people." Haku told her quietly, "My mother said my blood line limit is a gift. I would like to use it to fulfill my father's wish to make this world better. I would like to help you find the missing children. "

Sakura blinked, "Haku, we don't actually know where they are. . ."

"Gato doesn't have them." He said, then added when she looked at him curiously, "After our conversation, I went through the head quarters and the house. There was no sign of the missing children, and none of the body guards had heard of the missing children."

"Really?" Sakura frowned as another glimmer of hope died. It would be too much to hope that they could have found all the missing children in the basement of the Gato headquarters. But the mention of body guards stirred an earlier memory. Her face drained of color.

"Sakura?" Haku asked, but she was already turned to the two civilians.

"We need to get to the bridge! Gato is planning on killing everyone with his Samurai!"

XI.

"Why did you send the bridge builder and his daughter to the village?" Haku asked as they made their way to the bridge. He was half supporting her as her own muscles seemed to have given up the will to move. Chakra exhaustion, her brain supplied unhelpfully. Funny, how the medical part of her mind was beginning to sound like Sasuke.

"Because-" she panted. She could see the bridge ahead of them. "It all makes sense now! Gato would never invade the wave for business. There's no profit. Someone is manipulating Gato and his samurai!"

"But why?"

"I think it's to cause problems with Konoha. I don't know yet. Maybe if Konoha ninjas are seen stepping outside of their mission parameters?" She said, thinking back to what the samurai had told her.

"And the villagers-"

"If the villagers fight back, rather than Gato, Konoha can't be said to interfere with local politics. Or at least it will be a lot easier to spin. What?" She snapped as Haku gave her a strange look.

He shook his head at her.

"I know it's a lot of assumptions, but I'd rather not have my first mission start the fourth shinobi war."

XII.

"ZABUZA-SAN!"

The missing nin's eyes widened as he saw them at the edge of the bridge- then widened further as the kunai slashed through his neck.

Haku broke away with a cry.

XIII.

Three figures danced on the edge of the bridge and hope bloomed in Sakura's chest, then faded.

There wasn't much bridge left. The workers had disappeared along with the extra supplies and much of the floor. Great scorch marks scarred the concrete and there were gouges in the bridge that didn't look just like those of a sword.

She barely recognized her team mates. Was that Sasuke moving almost faster than the eye could track? Dodging sword swings and kicks like a man possessed. And Naruto-

Naruto was wreathed in flame. Sasuke moved fast, but Naruto didn't move like a human as he worried, taunted and drove the missing nin back along the bridge. When the great sword swung towards him, he blocked it with an arm- flame and raw chakra scorching the air as he snarled.

Sakura ran down the bridge as Sasuke's hand rose-

"NARUTO!"

XIV.

"SASUKE!"

Sasuke's hand fell and slashed the kunai through Zabuza's neck. The sharp blade split the skin easily, but there was no spurt of blood. The body collapsed, boneless, and vanished into a puddle.

A water clone.

Thank the kami. Sakura's legs gave out and she fell to the bridge, breath harsh in her throat, but Sasuke was at her side almost before her knees hit the concrete. His hand was wrapped tightly around her wrist, fingers resting on her hammering radial pulse as red eyes searched her own.

"Are you-"

"SAKURA!" Naruto barreled into her and would have knocked her over, but for Sasuke's tight grip on her wrist. Naruto was all but sobbing into her shoulder- arms so tight that she couldn't take a full breath. He looked normal though. No trace of the strange fire or chakra. No sign of the claws or glimpse of fangs. Had that just been another strange illusion like the ones in the forest?

"Naruto, are you?"

"We thought you were dead." Sasuke cut in- his eyes were still glowing bright red as if they had been painted with blood and Sakura was rapidly losing feeling in her hand from his grip. "We thought-"

"Are you alright- Sakura-chan!"

"I'm fine!" She wrapped her free arm around Naruto's waist and tried to pry her arm from Sasuke. "I'm fine. I think. Are you-"

"We saw the blood- and then you weren't there- and then we thought he killed you and then-"

"He killed you." Sasuke's gaze was unwavering and his grip only tightened in response to her efforts to free it.

"But you're back and you're ok-"

"I was going to kill him."

"Are you ok? I thought I saw-"

"Then I was going to kill his partner."

"Sakura are you hurt? How are you ok!"

"Then I was going to track down and kill Gato and the whole organization who-"

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried out in alarm as her team mates voice grew quieter and softer. He was starting to shake- just like after the first fight. They were in the middle of a battle now, with another fight coming. She couldn't afford to have him lose focus.

It only took one jerk to have Sasuke stumble into the two of them. Naruto wrapped his arm around Sasuke, head still buried in Sakura's shoulder, and Sakura finally twisted her wrist free. Wriggling her fingers to return the circulation, she sighed.

Her team was alive. Her team was still together. If they hadn't been. . .

"Sorry, I'm late."

XV.

Naruto's clone had survived crossing the island, but it hadn't survived the lightning fast travel back. Kakashi had never believed in the gods before, so he didn't waste his breath on prayer as he raced across the forested island, but he was prepared to start when he saw the bridge deserted but for the chattering knot of his genin team.

Alive.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto broke out of the group first- launching himself at his teacher followed quickly by Sakura who dragged Sasuke by virtue of the white knuckled grip on her arm. Kakashi was suddenly engulfed in tight hugs and shaking bodies. Even Sasuke seemed relieved to see him.

"Kakashi- it was bad- Sakura was killed-"

"Wasn't! I jumped off the bridge with Tazuna to avoid-"

"Then Sasuke went all – BAM sharingan! Show him Sasuke!"

"Hn."

"Kakashi- we met Gato's men in the forest! There are Samurai-"

"And then we fought Zabuza- oh-oh but! He has a friend! The hunter nin!"

"Sakura, where is Tazuna?" Kakashi asked. From the absence of corpses, Zabuza was still alive though possibly shaken from fighting against two of the most powerful genin in Konoha. If he had back up, they would go after their mission's target.

His kunoichi's eyes widened, "I sent him back to the village with Tsunami- to rouse the villagers!"

"Right," That comment probably had to do something with the comment of Samurai. It was common knowledge that many of the displaced ronin worked as two bit enforcers for the local mafia. "Are you three safe to travel? We are going to the village to find Tazuna- then you will stay with him while I track down Zab-"

"Running away so fast, Ninja-scum?"

XVI.

The last of the mist cleared and they were very much not alone.

"Who the hell are those guys!" Naruto shouted pointing at the enormous crowd of armed men who stood at the edge of the bridge. Sakura felt her stomach drop about four feet below her feet. These must be the Ronin come to begin the new nation of Samurai. The samurai who were going to kill them.

Kakashi-sensei glanced at them coolly and, with a sigh, raised his hand to his forehead protector, but Sakura grabbed his arm first.

"You can't kill them," She hissed. "Gato's being influenced by some group and they are planning to use this battle as a way to destabilize the entire ninja world!"

"What?" But he wasn't shaking off her hand.

"Wave is right between the Fire and Water nations! What if the Mizukage or Water Daimyo see that we killed a local business man and directly interfered with the political and economic balance of the nation! Couldn't that be seen as an act of war? Or at least of expanding influence into a neutral country?"

"Not bad, girl." Gato called out with a small smile. The men behind him jeered. "Usually, I just throw out some line about how killing the ninja-scum I've hired is cheaper than paying them, but you're the first to figure out the deeper pattern. Not that it will-"

"Wait!" Sakura stepped forward, Sasuke following after her. "Who are you working for? Who told you to come to take over this country?"

"Every sword needs its sheath, girl. There are more powers at work in this world than your precious ninja villages." He turned to his men, "I've changed my mind. Kill everyone. Villagers included. We can blame it on the missing nin."

XVII.

"You want us to do what?" Zabuza stared at his weapon in astonishment. They were hanging from the underside of the bridge while Zabuza caught his breath. He didn't want to admit it, but that last fight had been hard. When the dark haired one started predicting his every position and the blond one caught on fire- he had been hard pressed to escape, much less win.

"Return and help the Konoha ninja team defeat Gato and the samurai forces." Haku looked calm and resolute as always and Zabuza was confused. First, try not to kill the kids. Now go back and help them? What the hell had happened to the kid?

"Why-"

"It's like this. . ."

XVIII.

Never should have taken the mission, Kakashi decided. Every time things seemed to be going well or at least be straightforward, some new twist arose to completely fuck everything up again.

First it was the chunin. Then the Devil of the Mist. Then the revelation of Gato's slow strangulation of the entire nation. Then the missing children. Then his children facing off against enemies that should have slaughtered them.

The last thing he needed was second hand intrigue possibly adding potential geo-political consequences to whatever action he decided to take. If he wasn't aware of the strained relations between water and fire, he would have dismissed Sakura's concerns as overexcited. But she was intelligent and it was strange Gato would waste so much man power on an impoverished nation.

The very last thing he needed was the appearance of the rag tag members of the village, blocking his teams chance of a quick retreat.

"How nice of you- to gather everyone on the bridge for an easy slaughter." Gato gloated while behind him, his samurai stirred restlessly.

"There they are!" Tazuna cried, clutching at the old fishing harpoon, "The ones who stole our children!" The villagers responded with an angry yell. They were armed with a motley assortment of farming and fishing tools. They might hold up for a while under the attack of a Kakashi sighed.

"Sakura-"

"I didn't say anything!" She protested, "Honestly, I just told him to gather the villagers to the bridge."

"Right." He shoved his hands in his pockets and scanned the two sides. He had chakra, enough to take out the mob of armed samurai, but probably not enough to take out both them and Zabuza. "If we leave, the villagers will be slaughtered."

"Then we have to stay!" Naruto decided, even though his eyes were beginning to look a little glassy with exhaustion. Actually, none of his genin had enough chakra to last more than a few minutes. Sasuke seemed to be using Sakura's arm half for reassurance but half for support, his eyes still spiraling red.

"If they hire us to protect them, then Konoha won't be acting independently?" Sakura suggested timidly. Kakashi sighed again. When this mission was done, they were going to discuss the use of lies- both to clients and on mission reports.

XIX.

"You!"

"Haku!"

"Sakura- stay back-"

"And the last members of our little drama have arrived." Gato smiled thinly as he surveyed the two missing ninja who appeared on the bridge, "You are all making my life very easy."

"Hey kid-" Zabuza twisted to look at Sakura over his shoulder, "I don't get all this politics business, but is it going to mess anything up for you if I kill these idiots?"

"Um, no?" Sakura frowned in thought. Since Zabuza was a missing nin and an independent operator, it wouldn't matter if he interfered. "Do you think you can manage on your own?"

"Kid," Zabuza smiled from beneath his mask, "I could take these goons with both hands tied behind my back."

XX.

Sakura had never seen so much blood in her life before or since.

XXI.

"I think I understand now," Haku told her later. They were sitting on the edge of the bridge, watching the sun sink slowly behind the edge of the sea. Sakura had spent a day in bed rest after being diagnosed with incredibly chakra depletion- a feat Sasuke decided was due to her rapid acquisition of water walking and mastering the vanishing leaf no jutsu.

Sakura didn't mention her strange visions in the forest and Naruto didn't mention his strange appearance on the bridge. Sasuke didn't mention much of anything, just followed her around until she finally told him to go be with Naruto for an hour. Half an hour. Fifteen minutes.

"Understand what?"

"Why you like helping people." Haku waved to a couple walking along the path to the village and they smiled and waved back. After Zabuza's exceptional display on the bridge and the very literal beheading of the Gato corporation, both of the mist missing nin were hailed as heros of the village.

"Oh, yes. It can be nice." Sakura agreed absently. These days Haku seemed even more at peace than usual. His naturally gentle nature strengthened by an inner steel. But he seemed no more willing to mention their strange encounter in the woods than she was. Had she imagined the cherry trees and the conversation?

"Actually, I have a favor to ask you." Haku told her seriously and Sakura turned to him with a raise eyebrow. "I know it is your mission to find the missing children, but would you mind if Zabuza and I undertook that? We've been going through some of Gato's records and have found several instances of shipments being sent to the Land of Sound."

"Sound country?" Sakura frowned as she tried to recall what information she knew about that country. "Oh- the land of rice fields! It's right next to the Fire nation."

"Yes, I think it would be a good first place to start. We can send you updates when we find something, so would that be alright?"

"That would be great," Sakura smiled genuinely at her new friend.

XXII.

Haku and Zabuza set off for the mainland the next day. Zabuza grumbled a little about the nature of the mission, but turned down any offer the village made to pay him to find their children.

The bridge was completed not long after and dubbed the Great Zabuza bridge in honor of the man who had saved them. Naruto complained, but seemed genuinely pleased that Sakura had managed to redeem two dangerous ninjas. Sasuke eventually stopped shadowing her every step and reinstated their dawn training regimes when he deemed her fit enough to exercise. Kakashi stayed closer to their training regime than he had previously and lost in thought on their travels home.

As for Sakura, she was just glad when she saw the walls of Konoha rise in the distance.

A/N: Alright, my dear readers, hope that wasn't too bad. Questions about Sakura will have to wait until after the chuunin exams unfortunately...

On that note: I'll be taking a hiatus on this story for the holidays. I plan to work on some other, less intense plot bunnies so check back.

Hope you all are having a great holiday season! (or winter season)


	29. Chapter 29- Home Arc Begins

1.

"Rika and I went to look at the condo complex next to the eastern gate today."

"Oh yeah? How did they look?"

"Promising. Very promising. One bed, one bath. Little balconies overlooking the park. Full kitchen set…"

Sakura's mother's voice faded away as Sakura chased a grain of rice around her bowl with her chopsticks. Unidentified tension tightened her shoulders and her father's home cooked meal sat uneasily in her belly.

She was home. After three and a half weeks away on her first mission, she was back in her beloved house, surrounded by both her parents for the first time in months, and able to sleep in her own bed. There was nowhere safer to be in the Fire country. So why was she so unsettled?

It didn't make sense to feel so jumpy in such a familiar setting. Sakura glanced over at the living room wall. There- that imperfectly plastered over area was where she and Ino had practiced throwing their first shuriken. That was the counter where her father would let her sit when he was cooking and teach her drinking songs from his missions abroad. This was the couch where her mother had spent sleepless nights staying up with a sobbing Sakura after she and Ino stopped being friends.

The normalcy was surreal, Sakura realized. How was she supposed to reconcile the girl hauling a civilian through a samurai infested forest with the girl who doodled hearts on her homework assignments? Had she really been fighting for her life not a week ago? Had she really been trying to avert a shadow war between Konoha and an unknown enemy? Had she really-

Sakura rubbed her forehead as she sighed. Time had not given her more insight into the strange incident during the fight of the bridge. No matter what meditations or chakra manipulations she had tried, she had been unable to recreate the cherry trees or memory manifestation. Maybe she had imagined it? Terror and adrenaline did strange things to the brain, according to the Academy lessons.

"-Sakura!"

Her head jerked up at her mother's sharp tone and she blinked at her sheepishly. Clearly, Mebuki had been trying to get her attention for some time.

"Sorry. I was thinking about my mission. What did you say?"

Her parents exchanged a fond look and her father reached out to take her hand. Sakura could feel the small callouses built up from a lifetime of handling kunai and shuriken, but frowned as she felt the bandage covering another wound.

"Why don't you invite Ino over to play?" her mother suggested and Sakura's frown deepened at the choice of words. "It's important to set up some rituals for when you come home. Otherwise, it can be hard to remember that the mission is over."

"Like your lunches with Rika?" Sakura asked. Rika was Ino's mother who always managed to be in town when Mebuki returned. They would take afternoon long lunches catching up on all the trivial facts they missed.

"Or my poker games." Her father added and grinned. "It never feels quite real until I lose half my pay!"

Mebuki rolled her eyes but turned back to Sakura. "You'll find your own rituals, now that you're a genin. Whatever it takes to make you feel centered again. Speaking of-" She started, but Kizashi cut her off quickly.

"Honey- she just got back. We don't need to talk about that." He said softly. Mebuki pressed her lips into a tight line, but distracted herself heaping some more rice onto Sakura's plate. Sakura glanced between her parents, a trickle of alarm coiling in her belly.

"Talk about what?" She asked lightly. There was a strained, silent argument between her parents, but finally her father sat back and waved his hand in defeat. Mebuki reached forward to begin fiddling with the floral centerpiece as she spoke. Neither of her parents could sit still when they were nervous.

"Well, now that you are a genin and have had your first mission away," Mebuki had removed all the fading leaves from the flowers and was gathering them into a small pile, "We were thinking of selling the house and moving into a condo unit."

The words hit like a sucker punch. Sakura blinked, "Oh."

"You would of course always have a place to stay with us," Her father immediately reassured her. "For as long as you want."

"But it just doesn't make sense to keep paying the rent on all this space, if everyone is going to be away on missions." Her mother said, waving her hand around the dining room. Sakura had never thought of their house as large, especially compared to some of the Clan estates. But it had been big enough for her family growing up and seemed too big when her parents were gone.

They wanted to move out of the house? Her childhood home? Sakura knew that they rented the building from Konoha and that these houses were usually reserved for families with children in the Academy. But she had just graduated.

"And since you are an adult now, you'll want to have your own place soon-"

No, no she didn't, Sakura wanted to protest. This was her home! That was the front door that stuck a little when you tried to lock it. Those were the stairs that you had to skip the second and fourth step if you wanted to be quiet. What other house would fit their furniture just so? Or have the perfect roof for star gazing? Or-

"You could move in with one of your friends! Wouldn't Ino make a good room mate?"

No, Sakura thought desperately, no she wouldn't. Her parents made good room mates. She couldn't ask Ino for a hug to make everything alright like she could with her mother. Ino wouldn't sneak her sweets when she knew Sakura was starving on a diet, like her father did.

"Mebuki," Her father's voice became a warning. He reached out and squeezed Sakura's hand again. "Sakura, honey. We're just thinking about this-"

"There are other families who want this house." Mebuki broke in. "And we need to start saving for our retirement, which we can't do while paying the rent here."

"Sakura just got back from a mission," Her father argued, "This isn't the right time."

"I was living on my own younger than Sakura," Mebuki snapped, her voice rising dangerously, "Sakura doesn't want to stay with us for the rest of her-"

A crash followed by a thud sounded from outside the front door. All three ninja at the table were on their feet. Sakura found a kunai in her hand before her nascent chakra sensing brought up a very familiar presence. She lunged for the door gratefully. There couldn't be a better distraction from this conversation.

"Sakura-" Her father called, but she had already thrown open the front door and was grinning down at the boy brushing bits of dust and twigs off his dark jacket.

"Sasuke, this is exactly why I told you to use the front door."

. . . . .

"I thought we were added to the defenses," Sasuke said. After a quick, heated discussion that no, Sasuke was not trying to break into the house, actually, he and Naruto had been staying here before their mission and what do you mean what was she thinking letting boys climb through her bedroom window, Sakura decided that the garden was a safer place to talk than the kitchen. It was quiet, dark and, most importantly, far away from her parents.

Sasuke hadn't objected when she led him to the small bench, tucked under the willow tree and hadn't protested when she slumped against him. Instead he'd leaned into her as well.

"You were." Sakura sighed, playing with the ends of her hair. "Mum and Dad reset everything when they got home. Standard protocol."

Honestly, what was wrong with her? She could have died a dozen times on their past mission, but it was the threat of losing her home that made her feel sick and scared and tiny. At least, Sasuke was here. He was a good distraction. Though her younger self would be berating her for not enjoying this time with him in the dark under a willow tree, stiff shoulder digging into her own-

Actually, his shoulder felt pokier than usual. Sakura glanced over her teammate, grateful to be distracted from her own issues. His shoulders were tight and his eyes narrowed. When she nudged him with her foot, he almost flinched.

"Sasuke, what's wrong."

"Hn." Nothing.

"Tell me."

"It's," The boy hesitated, eyes flicking from the lighted window to the lighted street, "… too quiet."

Sakura nodded in agreement at the unspoken words. They had all been happy to see Konoha appear between the trunks of the forest, but as they approached each of them, even Kakashi-sensei, had grown tense and quiet. For Sakura, the sheer number of people had been overwhelming. There was too much bustle, too much stuff. The abundance of their village compared to Wave struck her as absurd.

And yet, for all the overwhelming busyness, as soon as she waved goodbye to her team and headed towards her house and her eagerly waiting parents, everything did feel too quiet. Too empty.

"But this is normal," She said after a moment, "Maybe we just need a few days to get used to regular life again. I mean, this is our village. Our home. Our fami- sorry." She broke off with an apologetic look. Sasuke didn't have a family to have dinner waiting on the table and excited to hear about all the adventures she didn't know how to tell from her time abroad. He also, a bitter voice reminded her, didn't have a family to suddenly tell him he needed to move out.

"Maybe," He agreed and seemed to relax a little. Or at least his shoulders slumped and he took her wrist, fingers closing over her pulse points. Once assured she was well and truly alive, he let out a sigh. "Where is the dobe?"

That's what they were missing, Sakura realized. Sasuke was good for quiet, intense conversation, but neither of them were in the mood for that right now.

"Catching up on all his missed ramen meals probably!" Sakura grinned, "But it's been a few hours. He's probably done." Without drawing her hand from his, she flicked open her kunai pouch and selected the one Naruto had given her.

"Is that-" Sasuke leaned over in interest as she flicked it towards the front of her walk. It disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Henged Naruto clone?" She asked, "Yep. He gave it to me in case I ever needed to call him when he wasn't around." Naruto would recognize the front door since he at least knew better than to try and sneak into people's rooms. Unlike certain dark haired boys she knew.

"Hn." Jealous.

"You have one too, Sasuke." She bumped his shoulder with hers, "Naruto was bragging about how he snuck it into your pouch."

Looking slightly more pleased, Sasuke reached into his pocket and pulled out a scroll. It was a storage scroll. A nice one, Sakura saw with a stab of jealousy. Long and many pocketed, Sasuke's sharp, clear lettering labled each seal : ration bars, canteens, sleeping roll, tent, dry firewood, water purifier- the list went on.

"Pickled plums?" She asked, looking up in wry amusement, remembering an argument she and Naruto had about their favorite foods, "Why are these in your essential field kit."

Sasuke snorted, "After you went on for half an afternoon-"

"It was like five minutes-"

"About how boring rice was without them-"

"Because it is-"

"It seemed safer to bring them," Sasuke finished. "Plus, their antibacterial properties preserve rice and they contain many useful vitamins." Sakura hummed in agreement, but couldn't help but grin as she saw the next item. Naruto would be pleased to know that their next mission would not be bereft of instant ramen.

"Where's the med kit?" Sakura asked after she reached the end of the long and very, very thorough list of supplies. A back up water purifier she could understand, but two extras just in case? And several canteens of purified water? She rubbed her forehead when Sasuke pulled out another scroll with 'Medic' written on it. "I forget you're a clan kid sometimes."

"Hn?"

Sakura waved her hand over the two scrolls, "Just- these would each be a month's salary, not counting everything in them." And Sasuke probably had a whole store room full of unused sealing scrolls. Her supplies weren't bad. Her parents had been more than able to afford the standard academy equipment with the occasional, more professional, present on her birthday. But those had been small things- new kunai pouches or a senbon holster.

"I'll give you one," Sasuke offered, rolling up the first scroll and handing it to her. Sakura hesitated. It was a generous gift and she was really, truly tempted, but no. She shook her head and sighed.

"I appreciate it Sasuke, but I need to stand on my own two feet. Plus," She brightened suddenly as a flash of a memory surfaced, "I think I know someone who-"

"SAKURA!" A blur of orange and yellow burst into the garden.

. . . . . . .

Naruto POV

It was good to be home. Well, it was good to be in the village. Well, it was good to be around familiar buildings! That was definitely something he could say with one hundred percent confidence, believe it!

(The people didn't seem very happy to see him.)

Well, they don't matter! Sure, it was nice to walk down the street and not have people cross to the other side. And if the shop keepers in the Wave glared at him, it was only because they glared at everyone, which was a nice change. But everyone who mattered was excited to see him! The Hokage said he was glad they made it back safely! And-

"Teuchi! Another bowl please!" Naruto finished the last drops of his ramen and slammed the empty bowl down on the teetering tower by his elbow. After three and a half weeks away plus the huge pay out after their mission, Naruto wasn't about to stint on his favorite food!

"Already?" Teuchi laughed, placing the waiting bowl in front of him, "Didn't they have any ramen in Water land?"

"Wave country-" Naruto corrected around a mouth full of noodles, "And nope! They didn't have much at all. Makes me happy to be in Konoha, believe it!"

"Ah, well we are glad you're back. You're our best customer after all- are you ok?" Teuchi asked as Naruto suddenly clutched his stomach. That was the unmistakable yank of one of his clones being poofed. He didn't have any clones out did he? But then the familiar image of the Haruno front door appeared in his mind's eye briefly. Panic quickly followed.

Sakura's kunai clone? But this was Konoha! She was supposed to be safe!

"Old Man! I'll be back!"

. . . . . .

"Naruto!" Sakura waved to her other team mate from the bench. Naruto paused, glanced around wildly, and, upon seeing her, ran over. He wasn't out of breath and Sakura was impressed. The ramen stand, whose odor linger around him, was on the other side of the village and she hadn't poofed the kunai more than three minutes before. That was a great response time!

"Sakura! Are you ok?" Naruto swept her up into a tight hug, patting her head as if he could determine her health through percussion.

"Yeah, obviously." Sakura said. After the bridge incident, both Sasuke and Naruto were still on edge about her safety. She'd honestly been expecting a check in a few hours earlier. "Sasuke hasn't eaten yet, so I was going to invite him for dinner. Thought you might want some vegetables between ramen bowls."

"Ramen has vegetables!" Naruto protested.

"Just because they're called green onions, doesn't make them vegetables, dobe." Sasuke replied heading towards the house- the front door, Sakura was glad to see.

"Is that true, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura couldn't help but start laughing when Naruto turned to her with a piteous look. This, she realized, was what she had been missing all day. Home hadn't felt like home without her teammates. The easy comradery, the jokes, the teamwork built after surviving a hard mission- now she felt centered again.

"Missed you, Naruto." She threw an arm around his shoulders, "It's been a weird afternoon."

"Yeah-" He turned to her, "Everything ok-"

"Sakura!" Her father stood silhouetted in front door, staring at the two boys with a strange expression. "We heard shouting." With a start, Sakura remembered that her parents had never met her team mates before, not properly. Some families had elaborate dinners to celebrate the creation of a new team. Team seven had rather obviously, not had that luxury. Sakura waved to her father.

"We're fine! Let me introduce you to my team mates. You've already met Sasuke Uchiha. But this is Naruto Uzu-"

"We need to finish up dinner," Her father interrupted. Was it her imagination or was he refusing to look at her teammates? Sakura slowly let her arm drop from around Naruto's shoulders.

"Well, I was thinking we could invite them to din-"

"No." Her father's answer was curt and decisive. Sakura blinked. Her father had never used that tone with her before. He was the joking, easy going one- more willing to wink off misdemeanors and bother her to go out and play than her mother. "We haven't seen you in weeks Sakura. One dinner with just your family isn't too much to ask."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest- they had literally just told her to invite Ino over- but Naruto spoke first.

"Nope, not too much to ask at all, Haruno-san." Naruto quickly took a step back out of her reach. "You have a nice dinner with Sakura-ch- uh- san."

"But-" She protested.

"Hn." Sasuke agreed.

"Hey! I just remembered I left without paying Teuchi!" Naruto grinned, taking another step back and waving off her glare of concern, "So, I'm going to go do that. With, uh, Sasuke. Enjoy your dinner Sakura-ch-san!" He took another step back until he was in the street and, seeing Sasuke wasn't following him, grabbed the other boy's arm. In a few seconds, they had disappeared around the next block.

Sakura whirled on her father, hands on her hips and questions on her tongue, but stilled when she saw the harsh lines of his expression. He was glaring at where the boys had disappeared, his hand hovering reflexively over where his kunai pouch usually rode on his waist.

"What is going on?" She finally asked.

"Sakura, your mother and I would like to have a talk with you."

. . . . . . . .

Naruto POV

Well, that was weird.

(But not unexpected, was it?)

"What did you do to them?" Sasuke finally asked after they had walked in silence for several blocks. Naruto, who had been wondering the same thing and reviewing his pranking history, shook his head.

"Nothing?" He said, "I never pranked that house ever, believe it!"

Actually, Naruto couldn't ever remember seeing Sakura's parents before. Some mothers and fathers, usually recovering from active duty, were regular presences at the Academy, but not Sakura's. They were both ninja, Naruto knew that much, but they seemed to have busier schedules than most of the other student's parents.

At least, he assumed. But what did he know about families?

"They really don't like you," Sasuke commented after another second. Naruto laughed nervously and itched the back of his neck.

"Nah… They probably just wanted to see Sakura. We left on our mission before her mother could get back. That's definitely it!"

(That's a pretty lie to tell yourself. Maybe one day you'll actually believe it)

Sasuke was mercifully silent for the rest of the trip back to the ramen stand. Naruto paid for his meal, assured Teuchi that nothing was really the matter, and parted ways with Sasuke with a heavy heart. Another set of people who didn't like him, another house closed to him. Naruto's world grew a little smaller.

. . . . . . .

Sakura's POV

Sakura's mom had already cleared the table when they returned, which made the hypocrisy of being asked to finish a family dinner even more galling. Her father, hesitating between joining Mebuki at the sink or facing Sakura, finally sat down on the edge of the table. Not long after, a spare chopstick found its way into his grasp and began to dance between his fingers- one of his clearest signs of agitation.

"What is going on," Sakura demanded. For the second time, her parents exchanged a silent battle of looks which her father lost, again. He sighed and turned towards her.

"Sakura, did something happen on your mission?" He finally asked. Her mother snorted from over at the sink. Clearly, her father was starting too diplomatically for Mebuki's tastes.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Sakura had already given them as much detail as she was allowed according to mission guidelines. They knew she had traveled to wave country, the mission had proved more difficult than expected, and that there had been altercations between her team and the local gangsters. There were a few missing-nin. More of the details, the Ronin, Gato's involvement, the presence of Zabuza and Haku, she wasn't allowed to share. Others, the strange genjutsu and cherry blossoms, she didn't know how to.

"Well-" Her father began, but her mother interrupted.

"When I left for my last mission, you couldn't stand that Uzumaki. Now, you can't go more than a few hours before seeing each other. What did he do to you?"

Sakura quickly reviewed the past few months of being with her teammates. It was startling to think that less than a year had passed since she had graduated and Sasuke and Naruto had gone from two other kids to two of the most important people in her life. How had that happened?

"Nothing? He… asked me on a date. And I agreed." She remembered. That really had been the start of everything.

"Why?" Her father's voice was gently curious- the same voice he used when she was little to encourage a confession to the small crimes of childhood. Sakura suddenly, immediately, knew mentioning the time traveling book wouldn't be a good idea. Not right now at least. She began folding the napkins on the table to stall for time.

"Well, Naruto had been asking for years, right? And since we were on a team, I thought I might as well give it a try? Either he'd realize we didn't actually work and stop asking. Or I'd realize he wasn't as bad as all that," She shrugged a shoulder, "That's basically what happened."

"Oh Kami-" Her mother cried, covering her face with her soapy hands. "He'd been interested in you for years? And you said yes to a date?"

"Uh-" Sakura started.

"It's brainwashing. It has to be. The only explanation." Her mother broke in, speaking over her head to where her father was twirling the chopstick so quickly, Sakura was wondering if it would break.

"Mebuki, we don't know that-"

"We don't know anything about him!" Her mother snarled. "Kami knows what sort of powers he has-"

"What?" Sakura asked, now utterly bewildered. Naruto had been crazy annoying before she realized how much of that was attention starved acting out, but no one had ever accused him of having brainwashing powers.

"Sakura, go to your room please."

"Seriously?" Sakura scoffed. "This is my teammate you are talking about!"

"He's not your teammate! You are not on his level-"

"Sakura!" Her father whirled on her, "Room. Now."

Sakura opened then closed her mouth furiously, but turned on her heel and stomped up the stairs. Not a half hour ago, her mother had encouraged her to think about moving out of the house. Now, she was being sent to her room like a six-year-old. She was told to send her teammates away to finish a family dinner but was being dismissed without even finishing her rice. The injustice of this evening was appalling.

At the top of the stairs, she slammed her door for good measure and then froze. Her parents waited for a moment and then continued their discussion in quieter voices.

Well, that wasn't going to help her. Sakura quickly flicked through the symbols for Hidden Leaf no Jutsu and smiled as her reflection vanished in the dark glasses of the window. After learning how to water walk in a fraction of a second while falling from a bridge, determining the right amount of qi to channel through her feet to climb onto the ceiling was a breeze. Sakura crept cautiously back towards the kitchen to listen to the discussion.

Normally, she would never eavesdrop on her parent's conversations. Her mother's flares of temper were ill matched with her father's evasive stubbornness. They loved each other, naturally, but arguing was a part of their relationship, especially after a long mission apart. Tempers which frayed with worry and space flared in close quarters. It took a week or so before they calmed down again- but usually by that time one or the other had left on another mission.

Normally, Sakura would retreat to her room and a good book. But this time, the argument was about Naruto. She settled on the ceiling just out of sight and listened.

"-ber the Hokage's law." Her father was whispering. He had his arm around her mother's shoulders and was rubbing her upper arm soothingly. "We can't say anything."

"I know," Her mother hissed. "I know, but did you almost die on your first C-rank? Because on mine, I went to guard a summer festival. The worst that happened to me was a bad hangover. Sakura was almost killed. By a missing-nin."

That, Sakura thought, was not quite an over generalization. But they hadn't been sent out knowingly on an A-rank mission! Tazuna had lied to them!

"And what sort of instructor," Her mother continued, "Doesn't turn around at the first missing-nin attack and ask for a more experienced team? Sakura is a genin- a recently graduated genin. Why would anyone think she can handle that sort of attack? We're not at war!"

It wasn't just Kakashi-sensei's fault, Sakura wanted to protest. She could have insisted that they had returned to Konoha. But she hadn't wanted to disappoint Sasuke and Naruto-

"It's because of her teammates." Her father responded dully.

"Exactly! You'd need an army of ANBU to watch them both. Instead, they have one, unstable Jounin who has never taught before," Her mother said.

That, Sakura had to admit, also wasn't a lie. Kakashi-sensei cared for them, she didn't doubt that. But he had no idea how to teach them as a team.

"Kizashi, I'm terrified for her." Her mother whispered into her father's shoulder. "We're no one. She's no one compared to them. If they keep treating her like she is, Sakura is going to end up dead. Either she's going to be dragged into another mission over her head or that boy will snap and kill her too."

What? Shock, cold and sharp as a blade, nearly broke her connection to the wall. Sakura had to slap a palm against the wall to keep herself from crumbling ingloriously to the floor. Naruto would never hurt her! Luckily, her parents were too engrossed to hear her almost inglorious fall.

"He's corrupted her," Her mother continued, her voice a small, fierce snarl, "Warped her mind and feelings some way. There's no reason for her to be so attached otherwise. I want her away from him, Kizashi. I don't care what it takes. She can't remain with them."

"I know." Her father's voice was exhausted, but hard. "But what can we do?"

Sakura had heard enough. She crept back to her room on numb limbs, careful not to make a sound until she was curled on her bed.

. . . .

This is why, Sakura thought dully, some information was on a need to know basis. Part of her regretted ever listening in on their conversation. She could have gone several lifetimes not hearing that much hatred in her mother's voice or fear in her father's.

Sakura pulled her pillow closer to her chest and chewed on the inside of her cheek. Why fear? Where was it coming from? Naruto wasn't scary. Scary strong stamina, sure. Scary how little he remembered from the academy, absolutely. But even at his worst, Naruto was annoying, not scary. And after their dates, he wasn't even that.

Maybe that was the problem? Sakura thought as she curled tighter around her pillow. Neither of her parents had had a chance to meet him. Not really. They only knew Naruto by his reputation: prankster, deadbeat, last in his class. Maybe if she had him over for dinner and they actually talked to him, they would see he was more than his reputation!

As for being nothing compared to her team? Well, that hurt. Badly. But Sakura knew how important she was to Team Seven and she knew she was much stronger than even three months ago. All she had to do was prove to her parents how much she improved and they would admit they had nothing to worry about! What was it that Naruto said? Believe it! Everything would return to normal. Her parents would stop insisting about moving out of her house and she could just stay friends with everyone.

Sakura sat up abruptly and crossed to her desk, wiping tears from her eyes. She needed a plan. A time table. A schedule of training and other possibilities. Sasuke would want them to keep up with their Taijutsu. Ino could be persuaded back into their knowledge competitions. Tenten had said she would help with the throwing and might even teach her sealing-

As she was scribbling down her list, Sakura glanced over at her bookshelf and had another thought. What did her future self think?

It was with a familiar thrill of excitement that Sakura pulled the now-sacred book off the shelf. This wasn't as momentous a time as finding her team or heading off on her first mission. But after everything that happened in the Wave country, Sakura was eager for some guidance. Would she find another question to answer? Or learn some new fact about her team? Sakura flipped to the back page and froze.

There, under the previous command and question, was a simple phrase:

 _Help Hinata._

But this time, her message from her future-self was not signed with a flower.

A/N: Hello Everyone! Hope you enjoyed the beginning of the Home Arc! While I do have all 15 chapters outlined, the story often has a mind of its own and will demand to be written differently. Your favorites, follows, and especially reviews help keep me focused on the story! I read and appreciate every response!

10/8/18- polished with minor tweaks.


	30. Chapter 30

Set away from the village in the dense, northern heart of the forest, the fourth training ground was an unpopular one. The streams ran colder, the shade seemed darker and sudden ravines gashed through the land while moss covered boulders hulked on sharp inclines. In general, training ground four was the last pick for traditional training. But if you wanted to train away from the prying eyes of the village? There were few better places.

Whether Team Gai's had bad luck at reserving training grounds or if their choice was deliberate through secrecy or insanity, Sakura wasn't sure. But she wasn't thrilled about heading there in the predawn light.

This, Sakura thought sulkily, was not how she expected her first morning home to go. She leapt over the douton made wall of the village and into the still misty forest beyond. A drop of dew fell on her head and she shivered. No, not how she expected this morning to go at all.

In Wave, she fantasized about all the things she would do when she returned to 'civilization:' take a long, hot shower, gorge herself on Konoha sweets, sleep until noon, and then lounge in her soft cloud of a bed reading the most ridiculous sci-fi stories she could find. What's more, she would have time to indulge. Since their mission was technically an A-rank, Team Seven was given the normal A-rank leave of absence: three days of glorious, relaxing nothing. No training, no d-rank missions, no sudden summons to far off lands, just some serious rest and relaxation.

Instead, 4:00am found her exhausted but awake with too many thoughts colliding through her sluggish brain. Why was her mother so frightened of Naruto? What was Naruto supposed to have done to her mind? Where was she going to live if her parents moved? How was she supposed to help Hinata? And, most worryingly and least answerable, why hadn't her latest not from her future self been signed with a flower?

Driving off sleep and refusing to be ignored, these thoughts gnawed at Sakura's mind through the slow march until dawn. Her exhausted mind had come up with increasingly ridiculous and horrifying answers, until Sakura had finally given up on sleep that night and decided to put Operation Prove Her Strength to Her Parents into effect.

It was nearly 4:30 in the morning. Tenten had said her team met at training ground four at 4:30 in the morning. Therefore, even though learning to make a storage scroll was pretty far down on her training priority list, it was the most convenient.

Sort of.

Sakura leapt over the wall surrounding the training ground and immediately ducked into the shelter of a large tree root. Wave country and certain mist-loving missing-nin were a long ways away, but the early morning fog that blanketed the training ground twisted Sakura's stomach in familiar anxiety. A perfect place for an ambush, a small voice whispered: no visibility, plenty of hidey-holes. Sakura glanced into the training ground and then, feeling rather foolish, stretched her weak chakra sensing to its limit.

Nothing.

Sakura fell back on her haunches with a snort. Of course there was nothing. This was Konoha, her home. It was as safe as anywhere in the world. Her sympathetic nervous system was on overdrive after her time abroad. There was a reason genin weren't sent on extended, dangerous missions after all. They hadn't learned to consciously decompress, turn off the adrenaline and relax when it was safe. Ninja who didn't learn burned out fast. But still, she wished Sasuke and Naruto were here.

Naruto. Sakura sighed and let her head slump forward, trying and failing to rub the stress from her temples. She was 99% positive that Naruto hadn't done anything to her feelings or mind. But her mother had seemed so certain that the boy had manipulated her into being his friend, Sakura was almost convinced. After all, both her parents had lived so much longer, seen so much more- maybe she was missing something?

It was, from a third person perspective, strange how close the three of them had become in such a short time. None of the other teams seemed so invested in each other- not even Ino's! And she had known Shikamaru and Choji since they were in diapers. Team 8 seemed competent, but not close. And-

"S-sakura-san?"

With a yelp of surprise, Sakura sprang from her cover and into a fighting stance, kunai in one hand and poised to run at the first sign of danger. Instead, she found herself staring into the equally startled face of Hinata, peaking out at her from over the tree root. Sakura quickly sheathed her kunai and rose out of her crouch, before Hinata could take offense. There were codes of etiquette for friendly shinobi, after all.

"I-I'm sorry for disturbing you." Hinata squeaked. Sakura quickly shook her head. Surprise? Yes. Disturbed? Only at her own obliviousness. She hadn't heard Hinata approach.

"Not at all, Hinata." Sakura took a deep breath and smoothed her shaking hands over her shorts. Adrenaline had flooded her system and her heart felt like it was ready to break out of her chest. "Sorry for the overreaction. I just got back from a mission and guess I haven't fully decompressed."

Hinata nodded knowingly and stepped out from around the tree. She, like Sakura, had grown up in a ninja family. Unlike Sakura, the Hyuga Clan was the most prestigious in Konoha after the Uchiha Massacre, though also the most secretive. While other clans, like the Inuzaka, mingled with the rest of the village, the Hyuga compound was surrounded by a high wall. They kept to their traditional dress and customs and were fierce proponents of clan sovereignty.

To Sakura's chagrin, that was the extent she knew of Hinata's family, gleaned mostly from Ino's gossip. For the young heir herself, Sakura knew even less despite seven years of mutual schooling. During class, Hinata had been quiet to the point of muteness while on the sparring mat she was considered an easy victory. Hinata lacked the necessary aggression to be a real force in Taijutsu, though her form work was graceful and fluid. She had the skills, just not the temperament. Ino once remarked that Hinta's status of heir was the only thing standing between her and being asked to leave the Academy. Instead, Hinata muddled through, fading to the background and from their memories.

Basically, Sakura had no idea how to help Hinata. Moral support maybe?

"I-it can take time and you were gone for a long time." Hinata agreed generously, plucking at the edge of her coat. "Are you here to train as well?"

"Nah, I'm waiting for Tenten." Sakura answered, rubbing her upper arms. She hadn't planned on it being this chilly in the morning and her jacket was quite thin. Hinata's coat, at least, was a good thick one-

"Wait- training?" Sakura whirled on the girl. "You are training with Team Gai?"

The question came out more astonished and accusatory than Sakura intended. Hinata immediately blushed deeply and pressed her fingers together, "Y-yes. They are very kind to let me participated as weak as I am."

"That's-" Insane, Sakura was about to say, but bit her tongue. Ok, maybe not insane. According to the Academy manuals, it wasn't unheard of for genin teams to be shuffled around jounin instructors. Specialties, blood lines, or missions sometimes favored a particular instructor. Out of character maybe? Hinata had never once sought extra training at the Academy. Much less in Taijutsu. Much less with the renowned and ridiculous Green Beast of Konoha. Sakura's curiosity immediately piqued.

"Impressive." Sakura ended quickly after realizing that her long pause might be interpreted badly. "I hear Gai-sensei is really. . . intense. When did you start training?" Before Hinata could answer, a great shout echoed through the forest.

"Good Morning Hinata! Good Morning Unknown Kunoichi!"

The few, damp crows that remained in this part of the woods took off in a chorus. But they weren't the only ones who were startled when two boys leapt out of the underbrush. One, could have been Hinata's brother, except that where her eyes were soft and timid, he gazed out on the world with barely hooded resentment. The other boy. . .

There was spandex. Green spandex. And not a lot else. Sakura had seen some pretty ridiculous ninja outfits in her day, especially from a certain loud teammate, but green spandex with orange leg warmers? Who in their right mind would wear that? Wrenching her eyes from the spandex, Sakura did another double take.

No, she thought, he had dropped out of the academy two years ago!

"G-g-good morning, Lee-san." Hinata's stammer had worsened at the appearance of the two boys. "H-how are you t-today?" She was pressing her fingers together with great intensity and couldn't quite seem to bring her gaze above knee height. Not that Sakura blamed her.

Though the Academy years were kept separate in the class room, they had had enough school wide assemblies that Sakura had learned to pick out the infamous Rock Lee. Rock Lee- the boy who couldn't form a basic henge. Rock Lee- the boy without chakra. Rock Lee- the boy who was going to become a ninja on taijutsu alone.

It would be kinder to just fail him now, Ino had declared during one of their gossip sessions. Taijutsu was important, obviously, but there was a reason ninjas were better than normal martial artists. He wouldn't last a second on the battlefield with summoned fire and deadly illusions. Or against some genius with a doujutsu like Sasuke? The idea was laughable.

When they hadn't seen Lee at graduation that year, they'd assumed Ino's prediction had come true and made loud comments in Naruto's hearing about how it was better for everyone if the untalented ninjas just drop out now. Kami, she had been awful as a kid. Why had she thought it was ok to say those things about Naruto?

"I am inspired to see you here, Hinata!" Lee said, striking a triumphant pose. "Are you ready to have the best morning of training ever?"

"Y-yes, Lee-san." Hinata stammered. A faint blush had risen on her cheeks and Sakura fought down a smile. Could Hinata have a crush on this strange, bushy eyebrowed boy?

"Excellent!" Lee beamed at the girl with genuine pleasure. "If I do not help you meet all your training goals today, I will perform one thousand pushups!"

"T-thank you, Lee-san." Hinata gave a short bow, her cheeks still scarlet. "I will work very hard so you don't have to."

"In that case, I will do two thousand pushups if you don't exceed all your goals." The boy proclaimed clenching a fist and staring off into the middle distance.

"Ah- well- in that case, I will be sure to exceed my goals, Lee-san." Hinata said quickly. Lee, Sakura realized dryly, had Hinata's number down to a tee.

"Your enthusiasm and commitment to stoking the powers of youth is impressive! Don't you agree, Neji?" Lee turned to his silent team mate who was pointedly ignoring them by glaring at Sakura. But at Lee's question, he spared Hinata a dismissive, bitter glance.

"I find nothing impressive about a passing whim." Neji said flatly. "Those who try and fail to change their fate are pathetic."

Sakura's mouth almost dropped open in astonishment at his rudeness. 'The stronger a ninja the stranger their world view,' was a common phrase of her parents and Sakura had already encountered her share of strange philosophies. But no ninja, no matter how skilled, ever looked down on someone trying to improve themselves! Not in Konoha! Sakura stepped forward to respond, but Hinata cut her off.

"My goal is not a whim, cousin." Hinata replied her voice quite but firm. Gone was the usual waver and her gaze was level as she stared at her cousin. But the boy only sneered and turned away, crossing his arms against the chill or, possibly, his cousin's determination. Sakura blinked and filed the interaction alongside Hinata's new training with Team Gai. Something was developing in the younger generation of the Hyuga family. Maybe her future self- or person masquerading as her future self- had the right idea.

. . . . . .

Tenten arrived soon after, but too late to save Sakura's sanity. As if to distract her from his team mate's rudeness, Lee turned the full force of his personality on to Sakura. In six minutes, she had been introduced as the top kunoichi in their year, told she was as beautiful as the ultimate flower of youth, and been invited to train with them three separate times- Sakura had declined,- declared a flower beyond approach, complimented on her youthful enthusiasm and vigor, forced to agree that Hinata was embodying the will of fire in the most admirable way, and forced to decline two more offers of training.

It was her intention to get stronger, but Lee's easy announcement that he would run around Konoha on his hands if he didn't beat his sensei in a race that morning was frankly frightening. Sasuke was never allowed to meet Lee, Sakura decided wildly. He would get too many ideas.

Tenten bounded into the clearing with the cheerful ease of a natural morning person, shouting greetings and looking fresh faced and ready to begin her day. In comparison, Sakura's bed seemed more inviting now than it had all night.

"Good morning Lee! Good morning Neji! Good mor- Hey Sakura. Haven't seen you in a while. Are you here to train with us?"

"No," Sakura answered firmly for at least the sixth time, then at Tenten's confused look explained. "At least not this morning. A few weeks ago, you had mentioned that you'd be willing to help me learn how to make storage scrolls? If I had a jutsu to trade in return?" Sakura was stretching the offer a little.

"Tenten!" Lee protested, "You would put a price on helping your friend?"

"Yep," Tenten said cheerfully, pulling out one of her storage scrolls. A little shorter than the traditional nine and a half inches, it had a distinctly handmade look, unlike Sasuke's professional, crisp edged ones. "It took me five years to figure out how to make this. I'm not giving that knowledge away for free."

"That's fine," Sakura assured her. After all, sealing scrolls commanded top prices in the market for a reason, even though they technically employed skills anyone with an Academy education could use. The laws of sealing were notoriously difficult and usually required years of study or apprenticeship. Even taking five years, it was clear why Tenten graduated at the top of her class.

Though, so had Sakura. She quickly added, "If you have the list of books you learned from or would recommend, that'd be great too! I learn well from them." If her genjutsu wasn't impressive enough to garner a complete tutorial, she'd at least have some more information.

Tenten hesitated. "There's not much at the library- at least for our level. Do the Haruno's have a family library?" She glanced interestedly at Sakura who could only shake her head. No, there were no secret cache of scrolls hidden in the linen closet scrolls like some of the clans, much to Sakura's disappointment. Tenten shugged.

"Then I'll make you a list of the more accessible introductions to sealing and some useful advanced mathematics." Tenten stored the scroll in her pouch and turned her attention on Sakura. "What's the jutsu you want to trade?"

Rather than explain, Sakura let her hands fly through the symbols of Hidden Leaf no Jutsu and grinned when Lee and Tenten's eyebrows went up at the familiar pull of chakra. To her observers eyes, it would look like Sakura had vanished in a puff of leaves. Out of the corner of her eye, Hinata activated her byakugan causing the veins in her face to pop dramatically. Interesting, Sakura thought. In school, Hinata had always been hesitant to use her family's doujutsu.

Sakura dropped the genjutsu and gave a little bow at Lee's burst of applause. She turned to Tenten. "Since you're a long range fighter, I thought you'd appreciate being hidden. It's harder to deflect kunai when you don't know where they're coming from!"

"Very true," Tenten grinned. Her fingers twitched by her side as if she was already imagining throwing shuriken from nowhere. "But it's not too hard to determine the location from the trajectory alone – which is why I like to move around when fighting. How's it at masking movement?"

Sakura wasn't sure. When Kakashi-sensei had given her the genjutsu she'd been more excited to master it than discover its limitations. But it was a good question and one she had wished she'd thought to ask. Sakura quickly ran through the hand seals again and, after feeling the illusion settle over her shoulders, took a few steps to the left. Lee continued to stare at her original location, but the other kunoichi tracked her movement.

"The illusion ripples a bit," Tenten announced after a second after a moment's consideration. Hinata nodded quickly in confirmation, "What does it look like at a run?"

Well, that was good to know. Kakashi-sensei had mentioned that it wasn't a perfect genjutsu, but Sakura had hoped it would hold up to a walking pace. Maybe Kakashi automatically knew that the camouflage would ripple based on the fourth finger position of the second hand sign, but this was a good wake up call. No matter how good her skills were, Sakura should always know her limits. Still, there might be a way to manipulate the genjutsu so she could move without detection.

There was a tree right behind her so Sakura spun and took off at run up the trunk until she had reached on a branch high above her fellow genin. Lee glanced around wildly when he caught the two girls craning their necks up.

"What did that look like?" Sakura called, not dropping the genjutsu this time.

"A lot of movement- almost a human shaped blur?" Tenten frowned, "It doesn't slip as you move, but it wouldn't be great for a retreat or hiding genjutsu

"I-I think it looks useful," Hinata offered, letting doujutsu subside. "Sakura-san was able to climb the tree without causing any flickering of genjutsu despite using channeling her chakra into two tasks. It also doesn't appear to require much chakra to cast or maintain."

"Good points," Tenten allowed, giving Hinata a nod of thanks. Clearly this wasn't the first time the two girls had discussed tactics. "It holds up badly with taijutsu but has the potential to pair well with a ninjutsu- but what about projectiles? It's a wide ranging enough illusion to encompass your clothing, could we see the range?"

"Good idea!" Sakura offered, pulling a kunai from her pouch. Another aspect she hadn't considered experimenting with! How far was her range? If she was touching someone else, would they also be hidden? Could she extend the genjutsu further if she changed a hand position a bit?

"Sakura chan! Throw it at me!" Lee offered, waving towards more or less where she was. He had been unable to track her movements which made Sakura wonder if there was some chakra sensitivity which Lee missed out on. "I will do one hundred sit ups if I can't catch it out of the air."

At that pronouncement, Sakura almost sighed. Sasuke was never allowed to come near this group. The last thing she needed was punishment games on top of their normal training. But she obediently took aim at the strange looking boy and flung the kunai, but aimed a little to the right. If the genjutsu extended to her weapons, she didn't want Lee to be hurt, even if he would undoubtly call it a good training opportunity.

Her worry was unfounded. As soon as the kunai left her hand, it became visible and Lee snatched it out of the air like it was standing still. Hinata clapped for him and he gave her a thumbs up. No sit ups today! Tenten crossed her arms and stared at the kunai Lee held. Sakura crossed her fingers under her technique. This wasn't a perfect genjutsu for the weapons master, but hopefully it would be enough for an exchange of lessons. Sakura needed something to show her parents how much she improved!

"The technique has some definite weak points," Tenten said finally. "But I don't know many genjutsus and this could be useful with some tweaking. If you teach it to me, we can take one afternoon to learn basic seals."

Sakura let the genjutsu dissipate and dropped lightly out of the tree. Tenten's decision was a little disappointing- one afternoon wasn't enough time to master much of anything. But Ino's lesson on jutsu creation came to her mind. If you spent five years of your life mastering something, you wouldn't give it away for nothing. The more jutsu Sakura mastered, the more she could trade for other skills!

"Thank you," She told Tenten, "When would be a good afternoon for you? I'd like to learn as soon as possible." The sooner she improved, the more comfortable her parents would be! Also, as the genin became more skilled and more in demand, it would be harder to find a free afternoon for both them.

Tenten pulled a small notebook out of her back pocket. From a quick glance, it looked like an insanely detailed time schedule with the days divided into fifteen minute intervals Frowning, Tenten tapped a page.

"How about next fire day?" Tenten asked, "I was going to go to the library to study for two and a half hours, but teaching you could replace my intellectual advancement slot for that day. Especially since I wrapped up my last special project early."

"Special project?" Sakura asked.

"An essay comparing the different quality of metal smelting for kunai in the five nations." Then, seeing Sakura's shocked look, Tenten shrugged with a laugh. "I like staying busy. Plus it's interesting. Did you know that the steel mines of the Hidden Village of Rivers carries a greater sulfur content? It makes the kunai more brittle, but also way more devastating as shrapnel due to-"

"Tenten!" Neji interrupted, "Gai-sensei will be here soon." Apparently preventing an involved lecture with far too many statistics was worth acknowledging their presence again. Tenten didn't seem annoyed though since she broke off with a laugh.

"Good point, Nej." She turned to Sakura, "Morning is dedicated to physical training after all and if we're not warmed up when Gai-sensei arrives, we'll have to work another two hours. Plus, some people think I get lost in my explanations!" There was an affectionate eyeroll towards Neji and Sakura wondered if the boy's prickly attitude persisted when he was alone with his team mates. Maybe he wasn't a morning person? Or just really didn't like Hinata.

"Yosh!" Lee agreed and punched the air, "Let us rouse the fires of our youth with our wills of fire! If I can't run three times around this training ground before Gai-sensei arrives, I will do five hundred side kicks. Are you with me, Hinata!"

With a small wave to Sakura, Hinata took off after the green streak with greater speed than Sakura was expecting. Tenten glanced at her.

"Let me know if you want to read my essay. I'd be happy to lend you a copy since it's been a fascinating study and has some real field applications." Tenten put her now updated planner away and began to stretch out her arms. "Are you sure you don't want to train with us?"

"I'm good," Sakura emphatically shook her head no, but then paused. Personally, she might not want to spend her early mornings completing impossible feats of strength and stamina, but she knew someone whose boundless energy might enjoy these challenges. "Actually- do you mind if I passed the invitation along to my teammate?"

"Uchiha?" Tenten exchanged a glance with Neji who gave a quick jerk of his chin to indicate his comfort with the idea. "I guess? I'm not sure how Gai-sensei's style would match-"

"Sorry. I mean my other team mate." Sakura interrupted quickly, "Naruto Uzumaki."

"Absolutely not." Neji shook his head- as emphatic as any emotion she had seen from him today. He gave her a glare for suggesting the idea and then dismissed her completely. "Let's go, Tenten."

"It might not be the best idea." Tenten shrugged apologetically to Sakura. "Sorry- our training can be kind of intense."

"No worries." Sakura felt her smile go a little brittle. "Just thought I'd ask."

"But any time you want to train!" Tenten was quick to reassure her, keeping pace with Neji as he started to run into the forest. Before Sakura could thank her, they disappeared from view into the trees. Sakura sighed and decided she'd better head home before someone else roped her into training.

Her minor victory at learning the basics of sealing scrolls had soured at Neji's sharp dismissal of Naruto and left her stomach in knots. Were people seeing something in her team mate she wasn't? If so, why not?

A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews, favorites, and follows! They seriously make my day!

10/8/18- reposted with minor tweaks, smoothed emotional flow, and a better fleshed out ending scene


	31. Chapter 31

_The trees close around her and a stitch starts in her side. She's gasping for breath, but air won't fill her lungs and her head grows light from lack of oxygen. Colors begin to flicker at the corner of her vision- green to pink to green. Ahead of her, the trunks swim, waver, and vanish._

 _Pain explodes in her forehead as Sakura burst into a warm, pink-lit field. Her skull feels like it is splitting open like someone had jammed a kunai between her eyes. She scrabbles at the pain and screams when her fingers sink into her skull. Passing through the bone and into the soft brain inside._

 _Her vision blurs as warm liquid drips down her face and stains the world red-_

. . . . . . .

Sakura woke with a strangled scream.

Even after three days back, waking up in her room was a surprise. There's no soft sound of the waves, no ragged snoring from Naruto. If she lifted her head, she wouldn't meet Sasuke's dark glare for having stirred and woken him. Their lodgings in Wave had been rudimentary, but at least when she woke up with nightmares, her team was close by.

Home, though. Home, she's by herself.

The alarm clock read 4:58. Too early to be up, too late to go back to sleep. Sakura signed and dug the heels of her hands into her eyes. She's exhausted- hasn't had a good night of sleep in the past three weeks. Every night brought new 'what if's' from the fight on the bridge.

What if she hadn't jumped in time and Zabuza's blade had cut her in half. What if she hadn't judged her jump correctly and drowned under the weight of Tazuna. What if the Samurai at the house had killed Tsunami and then herself. Or Haku. Or her teammates had been slain. Or Kakashi hadn't arrived. Or-

Nightmares, she knows from her Academy training, are common side effects in the life of a ninja. There are meditations to help calm her mind and, failing that, medications to bring on sleep. But 12 is a little early to become addicted to sleeping meds. At least, in their generation.

Mostly, she just missed her team. Being away from them was like a dull, constant ache emanating from somewhere under her breastbone. Steady, constant and sometimes spiking into a sharp reminder of her aloneness when she saw something that would cause Naruto to laugh or Sasuke to huff in amusement.

But despite the pain, Sakura hasn't sought them out. There are justifications, plenty of them, but none ring true. Still, every time the hollow under her heart aches, she recites her list of excuses: it's only three days. They probably had other things they wanted to do. There were other things she wanted to do. After spending all that time together, she wanted some alone time. Or time with Ino. Or with her parents. She couldn't be brainwashed if she could spend three days away. Her mother had to notice their absence and Sakura's regular presence.

That, she recognized uneasily, was the core of her solitude. She couldn't reconcile her parent's terror with her own impressions of her team. But they were her parents! Her main support! All her life, at least one of them had been there to advise, to comfort, to console. They'd never steered her wrong before. Would they really be wrong this time? Maybe she-

"Stop it," Sakura muttered furiously, throwing off the covers and swinging her legs over the edge of her bed. She padded silently over to her closet and peeled off her sweat soaked night ware. These nightmares were hell on her laundry. She'd probably have to strip her bed again as well.

A mirror hung on the inside of her closet door, but Sakura avoided it. She didn't want to see the dark circles under her eyes and the memory of the dream was too vivid. Repressing a shudder, Sakura ghosted her fingers across her forehead- terrified of that feeling of her skull collapsing inward, her fingers sinking in too far-

"Stop it!" She commanded and grabbed something out of her closet at random. The door slammed shut, deafening in the silence of her pre-dawn house. But no one came running at the sound. Her mother had accepted a quick overnight messenger mission to the capital and her father was spending the evening with Yoko again, though he promised he'd be back to make her breakfast- which was both worrying and gratifying. Sakura glanced at the clock. 5:05. Two hours wasn't long to wait to eat and the perfect time to get some work done.

Flipping on the light over her desk, Sakura cleared a space between the messy collection of notes and scrolls to set down the two books she checked out last night. Other shinobi might use their time off to relax, explore Konoha, or spend time with friends. Sakura hid in the library. Books were simple, safe, and familiar. Kami knew that Sakura could use some of that in her life.

After the bizzare encounter of Team Gai and Hinata, Sakura had run to the library and corralled herself in her favorite study nook to make a list of everything she needed to learn before team missions began again. That took a while. Glancing over the multiple pages, Sakura realized she had to prioritize and cut down her list to the top three research priorities: sealing, the Hyuga clan, and spontaneous bloodline limits. Time travel, the history of Wave and Fire nation relations, current samurai capabilities, jutsu for kidnapping, and general genjutsu techniques, just to name a few, would have to wait.

According to the card catalog, there were plenty of books on sealing: its history, its uses, regional variations, and three books dedicated to storage scrolls alone. However, most of the beginner books had been checked out and the books that remained were complicated, to say the least. Sakura had glanced through a few and been startled at the complexity of mathematical thought that went into even the most basic seals. One of the books was comprised of nothing but planetary and sun charts. Maybe she would just wait for Tenten's list of suggested readings.

The Hyuga clan research proved equally fruitless. But where there were at least some sealing manuals, there were no books dedicated to the most prominent clan in Konoha. When Sakura asked the librarian for help, she got a strange look but was pointed to an outdated bingo book and a basic history of Konoha written in such bland and careful language as to be useless. Which, Sakura admitted, after a half hour of frustrated fuming, made sense. The genin level of the shinobi library was only closed to civilians. Any ninja from any allied village was technically allowed to enter, so the information inside had to be suitable for both genin and possible spies. Once Sakura became a chunin, her library clearance would increase and she'd have access to more information.

Luckily, bloodline limits were considered familiar enough that there were several texts on the theoretical origins and abilities of famous clans, the distinction between a bloodline limit and a propensity towards a jutsu and the evolution of chakra to attain the bloodline limit. The last book was the most fascinating, though Sakura only understood about half of every sentence. Apparently, chakra manipulation was a relatively recent development in the history of human development. Before ninja, there were special technicians-

Well, she could understand why Tenten had her own special projects. There was a real pleasure in studying for herself at her own pace, rather than cramming for one of Asuma-san's tests or with the Academy mandated syllabus. For several hours in the library, everything fell away except for her books, her questions, and her notes.

Now, all she had to do was synthesize everything she had learned and find out the next questions to ask. Sakura pulled out her chair and sat down.

. . . . . . . .

"Good morning, Sakura!" Her father glanced up from the stove where he was stirring in a spoon of miso into the broth. She had heard him come in half an hour ago, but it wasn't until her stomach started growling at the appetizing smells of a home cooked breakfast that she actually descended. But at the bottom of the stairs she froze. The kitchen was transformed: every cup, saucer, plate and special china was spread out across the counter. Balanced on the window still were a set of sky blue bowls she had never seen before in her life.

"Morning," She muttered, edging around the collection of dishes to the small breakfast set on the table, "What's going on? Spring cleaning?"

"Ah- something like that. Mebuki wants to start downsizing, in case. . ." He shot her an uneasy glance and Sakura's stomach clenched. Moving. She had been avoiding that particular topic, as if refusing to acknowledge it meant it didn't exist. But denial wasn't an effective strategy and her parents were already coming to terms with the smaller square footage of a condo. Those were her baby cups, next to the sink. No need for the miniature, rounded, brightly colored dish set in their new life. Sakura glanced down at her omelet and realized her appetite had fled.

"Yeah, of course." Sakura reached for the teapot and almost spilled on the table before her hands were back under control. She clutched at the cup, enjoying the warmth of the ceramic, the green fragrance of the tea. Then, desperate not to discuss the move, "How's Yoko?"

"Good- good." Her father quickly ladled two bowls full of the miso soup and brought them to the table. "Any fun plans today?"

"Going to the library." Sakura took a tentative sip of tea.

"That's nice." Her father said and busied himself with his chopsticks. For a moment silence settled over the small table. Ever since overhearing the fight between her parents, conversations had become strained to the point of breaking. Not that this was exactly unusual. Ninja's received extensive training on physical confrontations, but unless you were going to specialize in infiltration or interrogation, managing interpersonal conflicts weren't worth the time in the classroom. Most of Sakura's childhood was spent with one parent angry at the other and refusing to address it directly.

When Sakura was eight, her paternal grandmother had to move in after one of the hospitals was restructured. Mebuki was not pleased. For three months, her parents danced around the issue. Her mother kept up a constant stream of passive-aggressive complaints and her father put all of his shinobi skills to use in order to never be in the same room alone as Mebuki or hear any of the arguments. Finally, her grandmother elected to move the village retirement compound. Both her parents considered the matter well satisfied.

But Sakura had never been the cause of this familiar tension and it wasn't pleasant. Worse. She wasn't exactly sure what would resolve it. Opting out of Team Seven wasn't an option, even if she wanted to, but part of her almost wished she could. Every conversation at home was a potential minefield: mention of her training plans caused her mother's mouth to twist, an offhand comparison of Sasuke's cooking compared to her fathers caused his brow to furrow, trying to explain why she burst into giggles when her mother complained the creaky bathroom door (Naruto could be really funny) had caused her parents to exchange worried looks. Just being home raised her blood pressure.

If her father hadn't pointedly mentioned his plans to make breakfast, she would have left early and grabbed breakfast at the grocers. But Kizashi only made big breakfasts when he had something he wanted to discuss. Which was lucky, because Sakura had some things she wanted to confirm after looking at her notes this morning.

"Dad?" Sakura set down her teacup and glanced at her father who had frozen in mid-bite. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Think you already did, Blossom." Her dad grinned at her from around his chopsticks, but there was a tension in his grin that Sakura recognized despite the corny jokes.

"Dad, seriously. That's just-" She shook her head, knowing that Kizashi would be all too happy to distract her with a terrible pun game. "Never mind. What I wanted to ask was if we, as the Haruno's, do we have any special talents?"

"Not counting our charming personalities and drop dead gorgeous looks?" He gave her a cheesy grin and Sakura managed a weak smile in return. She had cornered her mother over the laundry yesterday and asked about her maternal family. Mebuki had given a sharp 'no' in response over the snap of folding a sheet then given Sakura a basket of towels to put away.

"Dad. . ." Sakura whined. "This is important to me. Don't we have any predisposition to certain jutsus? Or elements? Or physical talents-" It wasn't uncommon for families to develop certain tendencies towards a certain style of combat, even if they weren't clans, with techniques and tricks being passed down from parent to child until they began to distinguish themselves. When she was little, her father had shown her a decidedly non-academy standard way of holding kunai while her mother had drilled her a few times on how to use her lower center of gravity while sparring. But neither of her parents had any unique skills that they might apprentice her in.

Her father set down his chopsticks and gave her a sad, little smile. "Sorry, Blossom. There's nothing special about us. No secret family libraries hidden under the floorboards." He said in reference to one of her favorite stories as a kid. Sakura knew that, but only because she had succeeded in tearing up three floorboards when she was six before Mebuki caught her.

"I mean unless you count our pink hair?" Kizashi replaced his grin and reached over to tug on a lock of her hair. Sakura batted his hand away. This wasn't surprising. Honestly, it wasn't. She hadn't been expecting anything except. . .

"No big events in the past?" She asked desperately, "No talented but obscure ancestors? Or- or advantageous marriages to extinct ninja clans?"

"We've never been part of a ninja clan," Her father admitted, his expression growing a little wistful, "Honestly, I don't think anyone in the past three generations made it past chunin. At best, Haruno's become low to mid-level ninja. Well, that or Geisha."

"Geisha?" Sakura asked, surprised. In the academy, they learned that most of their civilian intelligence was bought from the extensive and secretive Geisha networks that extended into all the capitals. Skilled infiltration ninja were too precious to waste on a long-term missions of civilian governments when they could be sent to spy on enemy villages. It was much easier to pay the information network already in place. She'd never heard that any of her family had been Geisha.

"My sister is a high ranking geisha in the Fire capital." Her father said with a careless shrug, picking up his soup to drain the final dregs. Sakura shut her mouth and leaned forward- disappointment ignored for the time being.

"What? Really? Why didn't you ever mention her before? Why haven't I met her?"

Kizashi gave another embarrassed shrug, "Technically, a Geisha is supposed to cut all ties to his or her past after they assume their new name. And it's not really something to brag about."

That was true. If a student failed the academy test too many times, they didn't have many choices for their future. Their only hope was to become a late apprentice in a civilian trade or to catch the eye of a Geisha scout and be taken to the capitals for training. If her Aunt was a geisha, even a high ranking one, it meant that she hadn't even been able to pass the Academy tests, let alone the Chunin exam. Sakura's hopes for some secret strain of greatness shriveled more.

"What about mom's family?" She asked finally. Her grandparents and uncles had died when she was only a few months old and her mother never spoke of them, except for when they went to pay their respects at the modest civilian cemetery. Her father shook his head.

"Civilians. Mebuki was the first person in her family to be accepted to the Academy and graduate. History of good chakra control though. Your grandfather was a civilian medic." Kizashi finished his soup and glanced at her over the rim of the bowl.

"What's with the sudden interest in genealogy, Sakura? Planning on becoming a historian?" There was a little too much hope in his voice at the thought of her turning to such a safe, academic job. Sakura picked at her rice and sorted between possible answers.

"It's . . . my team." Sakura finally said. Which, to be fair, wasn't exactly a lie. "Naruto has these crazy chakra reserves and Sasuke is-"

"An Uchiha," Her father finished flatly. His bowl clinked sharply on the table.

"Uh. Yes?" Sakura blinked at the tone. Her father never sounded this serious. If jokes or blatant changes of the subject couldn't diffuse a situation, he would usually find a reason to leave the room.

As though sensing he was out of character, Kazashi pushed his chair away from the table and began collecting breakfast dishes, even though Sakura hadn't managed more than a few bites of her rice. He set the dishes in the sink and began to busy himself with collecting wash gloves and dish soap.

"Sakura, you know you don't have to compete with them right?"

"It's not competing," Sakura said defensively, "I just want to be a valid part of the team."

"Ah…" Her father sighed, turning on the faucet and wetting a sponge. "Sakura, I'd like you to answer something seriously." Still leaving the faucet running, he turned to her and crossed his arms over his chest. Sakura frowned.

"Do you feel ready to be a Chunin?"

"What?" She asked startled. "No. Not at all. I only graduated three months ago!"

"What about your teammates-"

"No-" Sakura cut herself off. Could her teammates be chunin? Naruto knew so little about the greater world or even the basics of being a ninja that he was still a liability on some of their D-ranks. But between his stamina and Kage Bunshin technique, he was a formidable combat ninja. A Jounin had to be skilled in multiple fields, but a chunin could know only one or two skills to pass the exam. Fewer, if there was a war. Plus, in a few months, Naruto had already mastered many of the skills the Academy had failed to teach in eight years. He was a quick study. Naruto could probably be a chunin.

And Sasuke? He definitely could.

Her answer must have been obvious on her face because her father's voice became gentle.

"Exactly," Her father twisted and turned off the faucet. The sudden silence was loud. "When the next chunin exam comes, do you really think that you'll be able to pass with them?

"Maybe-" She said. No, her mind whispered.

"And, even if you did," Her father continued, "Chunin are rarely kept in their genin groupings."

"But Ino-" Sakura started, but her father interrupted her.

"Unless they show remarkable teamwork and have a proven specialty. Like Shika-Ino-Cho."

Sakura gnawed her lip, worry blooming anew in her stomach. Her team had amazing teamwork! Didn't they? Except Kakashi had said Team Seven was intended to train as front-line combatants, which wasn't her skill set at all. Would Sasuke and Naruto be better paired with someone like Tenten? Or-

Her expression cleared as another alternative appeared. "Maybe," Sakura agreed, "But your genin team has stayed close, even though you're at different levels."

It was true. Her father had remained a chunin for his entire career, but Toru was a respectable Jounin who was working with a team that graduated a few years before her while Yoko had been recruited into ANBU. Her father's face darkened.

"We were different." He said shortly.

"Really? Why?"

Her father opened his mouth to answer, then closed it. Finally, he turned away to put the pots in the sink. "It was just different, Sakura. We all started off at the same level, but you haven't. Your teammates are in a different league than you."

That… that hurt. It might be the truth, but to hear it stated so flatly from her father hurt. Tears itched the corners of her eyes, but were soon overpowered by a sharp, stab of anger. Her chopstick splintered in her hand. How dare her father say that to her? He didn't know her. He hadn't been in the Wave with her. Hadn't been on the bridge or in the woods-

"But what if I'm in a different league."

"What was that?" Her father turned to her sharply.

"I said," Sakura raised her voice, anger making her reckless, "What if I am in the same league as them."

"You're not, Sakura." Her father's voice was hard. He dropped the sponge and crossed his hands over his arms. "You need to face the facts. You-"

"You don't have all the facts!" Sakura cried, "You don't know what happened on the mission!"

Unbidden, the story poured out. The appearance of Zabuza. The death-defying drop and success. The flight through the forest. The wavering trees that shifted from green to pink. The smell of Sakura blossoms. The pain in her head. The conversation with the samurai who recognized her and the technique. The fight with Haku. How she had brushed her hand against his arm and how he'd frozen as ghostly images of what could only be his parents suddenly appeared. How they had talked to Haku- saying all the right things to heal wounds made as a child. His tears and promises. Then how everything disappeared but the new peace in Haku's face. His heartfelt thanks as he vanished in the forest.

When she finished, Sakura collapsed back in her chair. Even though the story hadn't lasted for more than ten minutes, it felt like she had run for ten hours. During the entire, incredible recitation, her father hadn't said a word, but just listened intently. But now he leaned forward with a slight frown.

"Sakura, have you told anyone else about this?" Her father asked.

She shook her head, "No. Not even Naruto and Sasuke." This was actually the first time she had allowed herself to think about what had happened rather than write it off as a fever dream. Now, hearing it in full, it sounded strange. She could understand why he was staring at her like she'd grown another head.

"Good." Her father rubbed his hands over his face then up his hair. "It's . . . Sakura, if someone – Ino let's say- told you a story like the one you just told me. What would you think?"

Sakura hesitated. If Ino had come to her with a story like this? She'd worry about genjustu. Or one of the Yamanaka family techniques misfiring or-

"You were under a lot of stress, Sakura." Her father said softly. "More than you ever should have been. Stress can do strange things to the body."

"I know," Sakura whispered, playing with the hem of her dress. Stress rearranged the chemicals of the brain and interfered with clear thinking. Her education was quite thorough in explaining the dangers of letting your emotions take over your mind. You became susceptible to all sorts of dangers- delusions, lies, genjutsu. Ino could be quite descriptive. The Academy had elaborated on her descriptions.

"You said you jumped from the bridge?" Her father continued, "Do you have any concussive symptoms? Maybe you hit your head on the way down. Was your wound checked for poison? Mist ninja's have incredible hallucinatory poisons- almost better than their genjutsus." Her father's voice was carefully neutral and Sakura suddenly remembered her father being missing for six months when she was seven. He had transferred to the local medic branch after that. If he said that hallucinogens could be that powerful…

"Do you think I should go get a psych exam?" She asked finally. If she had been caught in a genjutsu, having her mind examined for trace residue was a common procedure. Kakashi had given her a clean bill of health, but he wasn't a medic nin or the most concerned about proper mental health to be honest. And he hadn't known about her incident in the forest. There was a rational explanation for her memories, something more likely than a spontaneous bloodline limit. Sakura drooped, stomach sinking as her hopes fled in the light of logical thinking.

"Maybe." Her father crossed over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "You're stressed and you were put into a situation you should never have been in. You didn't have the mental resilience to handle that danger. Your mind- it was just trying to protect you by creating a scenario where you were all powerful and safe."

"Ok." Sakura said hollowly. She hadn't felt powerful and safe in the genjutsu. She'd felt confused and scared. Two feelings which hadn't disappeared even upon coming home. Could it be stress? Her mind breaking under the pressure of a full-fledged battle? It did make a lot more sense and even after their fight Haku had never mentioned their meeting in the woods. What if it hadn't happened?

"Luckily for you, your mind is still young! There's plenty of time to overwrite the bad memories with new and better ones." Her father said cheerfully, "Best thing to do is just forget about it."

Forget about it? Sakura blinked up at Kizashi. It was true that her memories of what happened were already fading into the polished story that seemed too fantastic to be true. But to actively try to forget? Maybe it would be best- her father had been a ninja longer than her and fought in a war. He knew how to cope. Sakura hesitated another moment and then nodded. That was all the confirmation her father needed to change the subject and forget the whole incident.

"I know! Would you mind doing me a favor Sakura?" Kizashi pulled two bentos from behind the stack of water glasses. "I need to get this cleaned up before your mother returns. Would you run these out to the Aburame compound? Toru is on guard duty today and I promised him breakfast. Let him know I added some mochi for you know who!" Her father added with an exaggerated wink. Clearly he considered the matter resolved and had moved onto easier and lighter things. Numbly, Sakura took the bentos and turned towards the front door.

"Oh and Sakura-"

She turned to look at her father.

"Remember, your mother and I love you. We just want what's best for you."

A/N: In which Sakura's strange power is not explained and I indulge in a bit more world building.

As always, thank you for reading. Your follows, favs, and reviews literally make my day.

10/8/18- reposted with slight restructuring of the story for more believable (hopefully!) conversation between father and daughter.


	32. Chapter 32

Scene 4:

It was with a heavy heart that Sakura turned her feet west and began walking to the Aburame compound bento boxes in hand. The morning was pleasant with many of the Konoha citizens taking longer routes to work and school in order to enjoy the bright sun. Sakura dodged around them with the habitual ease of a bookworm whose mind was on anything but the path before her. In the past, school and Sasuke occupied her thoughts, but the recent conversation with her father distracted her from her surroundings.

What had happened on the bridge and in the forest was like a bad dream. And if it was a bad dream-

As with most things in life, the importance of her possible hidden bloodline jutsu was clear only in retrospect. It had been, Sakura realized, her last and only defense against her parents' perception of her mediocrity.

Well, no. She knew they thought she was a good ninja. But not a great ninja. Not like how Naruto and Sasuke would be one day. All of the research, training, and trading to learn new skills didn't matter compared to Sasuke's sharingan and Naruto's ungodly stamina and spirit. But if she, too, had some special ability-

What if her father didn't know what he was talking about? What if what happened on the bridge wasn't a stress-induced fever dream or genjutsu? What if-

Every ninja had to develop their own coping mechanisms; otherwise, the stress of the job would drive them insane. Her mother had an endless to-do list which she completed with grim urgency. Her father fully committed to forgetting anything that would be unpleasant to remember. Both of them had their tight-knit social support networks and, if all else failed, the pills in the bathroom and sake in the linen closet.

Sakura had-

To be perfectly frank, Sakura had nothing. She wasn't coping. Well, not in a healthy manner. Obsessing over poorly remembered fever dreams, grasping for any ounce of power she could find, isolating herself from her friends and fighting with her family- these weren't signs of a healthy, well-adjusted shinobi.

The girl sighed and paused on the edge of one of Konoha's public gardens. A young family was teaching their toddler to throw plush kunai and a crow nibbled at its wing above her head. It was as peaceful and relaxing a scene as any in Konoha but Sakura had never felt more tense or miserable. The mission had ended two days ago, but Sakura still wasn't back.

Maybe forgetting about what happened on the bridge was the best thing to do. She had wasted two of her rest days on research and found nothing. Fought with her father and learned nothing. Maybe this was a dead end that she needed to accept.

Sakura began walking again, but another worry arose immediately. If she did forget about the incident in the wave and accepted her status as a talented but normal ninja, what about her team? Her father was right; Konoha would be stupid not to promote Sasuke in their next chunin exam. Naruto might not be ready for this upcoming one, but the one after? Absolutely. Which meant in a few months, six at the most, their team would be broken up, they'd go their separate ways and-

Tears prickled in her eyes and Sakura scrubbed her hand across her face furiously. Crying wasn't going to help. It wasn't like Sasuke or Naruto were going to be killed! She'd still see them between missions. There were genin teams who stayed close. The bento in her hand was proof of that. If her father's team could remain as devoted to each other twenty years later, then so could team seven.

Now, she just needed to find out how.

Heartened, Sakura set off at a run to the Aburame compound. The city streets narrowed into lanes as the gardens grew larger and the houses shrunk until Sakura was jogging through deep forest. The Aburame kept to themselves, but unlike the Hyuga they didn't flaunt their differences. For one thing, there were no walls. Anyone was allowed to walk down the road to the sprawling compound, though few dared. The compound, like the clan, was considered a little too uncanny. Maybe it was the deep, constant shade of the trees. Or the resonating hum of the thriving insect life in the surrounding forest. Or the silent appearance of the clan member as soon as she approached. A Konoha civilian might have been disturbed, but Sakura waved as she recognized the man: Toru Aburame. Her father's teammate and the closest thing Sakura had to an uncle.

"Hi, Toru!" Sakura smiled as the man stepped onto the path to intercept her. At his gesture, the buzz of beetle wings quieted as the other Aburame retreated. Sakura was hardly a threat; she had been visiting with her father since before she could walk. As her almost uncle approached, Sakura's thoughts cleared. Though not as frequent a presence in her home as Yoko, Toru was a welcome sight. Sakura treasured his grave, patient understanding that balanced her father's studied lightness and Yoko's fierce intensity.

"Sakura-chan, I am afraid I cannot let you proceed further." Her almost uncle raised a hand in return greeting but did not turn to the side when she approached to walk with her into the compound. "We are introducing a primary colony to a promising kunoichi. Clan members only."

Even growing up around an Aburame, the clan remained a mystery and their process of transferring colonies was one of their most cherished secrets. Which explained the increased security detail even in their own village. A little disappointed that their conversation would be cut short by Toru's responsibilities, Sakura sighed.

"No worries. Just came over with breakfast- courtesy of Dad." Sakura held out the brightly wrapped boxes as proof and then added pointedly, "He added mochi for Chouko, but you might want to say you reminded him."

Toru spared a small smile "He is very considerate."

It was true. Over the past few months, Kizashi had gone out of his way to make Chouko, Toru fiancé, feel welcome. The Aburame struggled to make advantageous matches outside of their own clan. The symbiotic relationship between ninja and beetle colony was deeply disturbing to many of the eligible shinobi and Aburame tended to marry civilians from the surrounding countryside. According to Ino, farm life was so difficult that sleeping next to a living insect colony was preferable.

Luckily, between Toru's high status as a Jounin instructor and his better than average socialization, he had managed to successfully court a kunoichi of the tertiary branches of the Akimichi. It was a marriage of convenience, but Sakura and Kizashi were convinced that it would bloom into one of affection with the right nudges. Especially since Toru's colony hadn't objected to the kunoichi's presence. Best of all, according to Ino's gossip via Choji, Chouko seemed cheerful enough about entering what was essentially a three-party relationship between herself, Toru, and his colony.

"How is Chouko-san?" She asked, a little embarrassed. When was the last time she had asked Ino about Toru's fiancée? In the rush of her new team and training, Sakura had completely forgotten about her almost uncle's life.

"I believe she is well." Toru answered in his quiet, succinct manner. "The wedding is set for next month."

Marriages were elaborate affairs for civilians but less so for ninja. In school, Sakura learned that the average ninja had 2.3 marriages in the course of their life- more if during a war time. Between the high mortality rate of both partner's careers and the ever pressing need for future shinobi, marriages were expedient and practical. Few married for love, though many were entered for the companionship of knowing someone would look after your house plants you were away. Plus, her father always reminded her with a nudge, the tax breaks for a married shinobi were nothing to sneeze at.

"Next month? I hope I'll be in town." Sakura sighed. She loved weddings and wanted to see Toru's first.

"As do I." Toru agreed, "Speaking of missions, you just went on your first C ranked."

Sakura hesitated to correct him. After reliving the memories of the last battle with her father, she didn't want to rehash the events while the feelings were so raw.

"Toru, do you mind if I ask you a question?" Sakura asked after a moment

"I do not mind, Sakura-chan." Toru tucked the bento in the crook of his arm and turned his full attention on her. With Toru, Sakura always had the sense that she could tell him anything- from an embarrassing crush to thinking about going missing nin- and never be judged. But Sakura had confessed enough for one day, so she kept her question vague.

"How has your team kept so close together?"

"My team?" He considered it for a moment, "I wouldn't say this current team is very close, to be perfectly honest. They are competent true, but Yamanka's are better-"

"Sorry," Sakura interrupted, "Not your current team. I meant your genin team."

"Ah, Kizaki and Yoko," Toru considered her carefully. It was difficult to tell what he was looking at behind his dark glasses, but Sakura felt as though she were being gently dissected to discover the origin of this question. Finally, Toru nodded.

"I can see your confusion. We three are very different. On the surface, there is no reason why we would have created such tight bonds. Also, there were few models of close knit teams when we first met. During the war, teams were fractured as soon as they were created. Strong bonds couldn't be formed.

"Perhaps then, we were lucky as our missions tended towards espionage than combat. There were fewer chances for one of us to be caught in the collateral damage."

Sakura listened avidly. Her father refused to discuss the war. It was one of his topics non grata and the few times Sakura had brought it up, he had left the room soon after. Actually, thinking of it now, she hadn't ever known the specialty of Team 31. Her mother had been a runner- carrying sensitive information from the front lines to Konoha or beyond. Though lower risk than front line fighting, runners were constantly being reshuffled or sent on solo missions, so Mebuki had never bonded closely to any team.

What did that mean for team seven? They weren't at war. One of them could die, but it wouldn't be a statistical likelihood. Would the relative safety of civilian life benefit or harm to their continuing connection?

"And after the war?" Sakura prompted, "How did you stay so close?"

"Ah- after the war, that was your father." Toru continued. "We were all field promoted chunin but as Yoko began advancing in rank, Kizashi made sure that we continued to be part of each other's lives-"

"And how did he do that?"

Toru thought about it for a moment. "He started turning down long term medic posts in the provinces so he would be in the city whenever Yoko or I returned from our missions. I know he was offered a position to train in the Fire Capital, but he returned after only a few months so we wouldn't be left alone. For many years, he structured his life around our schedules. Of course, he is one of the few people left on Yoko's trust list."

Sakura nodded. Of course, her father would be on Yoko's trust list- that explained why his absences from his nursing job were excused. ANBU toed the line between being the most valuable and most unstable ninja in Konoha. Their extensive training and skill meant that they were sent on the most dangerous and risky missions. If you were on an ANBU trust list, you were their main source of support during an inevitable break down- their reason to return to Konoha at the end of a mission.

Was that all it took- trust lists and staying in the city? Sakura was pretty damn sure that she was firmly on both Sasuke and Naruto's trust lists, should they advance that far. All she would need then was a safe, steady assignment in Konoha. Something behind a desk which gave her enough flexibility to drop everything when Naruto or Sasuke returned from their missions. Something with evenings free so she could cook dinners for her exhausted teammates, listen to their stories of far off adventures and daring missions. Her parents would be pleased. Her teammates would feel better knowing that she was waiting for them, anxiously counting down hours and reading foreign reports with an eye to Sasuke's last known position, to cheering Naruto's latest breakthrough in training. She would be their center- their stability- the thing to return home to. It would be-

"Sakura?" Toru asked, voice tinged with concern.

Sakura forced her fists to unclench.

"Sorry- flashback-" She mumbled through a cramped jaw. Toru accepted the lie with a nod, head titled in gentle curiosity. Sakura forced herself to take a deep steady breath and almost succeeded. "I should-"

"Toru-san. S-sakura-san?"

Shino materialized from the depth of the forest, travel pack strapped to his back. Though it was always difficult to tell where an Aburame was looking, Sakura guessed he was staring at her in something almost like surprise. Oh thank Kami, she thought. Of all her old classmates, Shino was the least likely to either guess or pry into the sudden dread that was cramping her stomach.

"Hi, Shino!" Sakura waved desperately. "Is Team 8 going on a mission?"

For a moment, Shino appeared to be at a loss of words, then he hefted his backpack. "We are not. But I am wearing a backpack. Why is this? Because we will be training in evasive maneuvers while on a scouting mission."

"Fascinating." Sakura pierced a smile to her face, "I want to hear all about it. You're heading into town? I'll walk with you."

"Sakura-chan?"

Sakura froze at Toru's quiet question. Her shoulders flew up around her ears and did not obey her command to straighten them as she spun to look at her father's best friend and teammate.

 _But would they have been teammates or friends if her father hadn't sacrificed his career for them?_ A small voice whispered.

"If you would like to speak further, please don't hesitate." Toru offered. "Your father mentioned that you are having some stresses with your team. We only want what's best for you."

 _Best for her by keeping her locked up behind a desk while her teammates risked their lives for the village?_

"Of course." Her jaw ached from the cheerful smile, "Say hi to Chouko-san for me!" Unable to resist the urge to escape, Sakura spun on her heel before she could see Toru's short bow or hear his polite goodbyes. As she raced up the path, she snagged Shino's coat and dragged him along with her as a paltry protection from her own thoughts.

She was being irrational, she realized that. There were other ways to keep a team together than having someone act as the home base. She could train and become stronger. She could find such a vital specialization that no one could ignore her. There were forbidden techniques- she could find those-

"Sakura-san?"

Something bit her hand and Sakura yelped at the sharp pain, jerking her hand from its tight grasp on Shino's wrist. A line of kikaichu disappeared under his sleeve and under his skin. Sakura's guilt doubled. Aburame could barely be touched; their skin was a weak protection for their hosts. Unless they specifically cultivated a colony of steel-back beetles for close range fighting, hugs had to be gentle, grips light, and sparring at half force.

"It is nothing." Shino rubbed his wrist and Sakura winced, "Why? Because you are upset and did not intend your grip to be an attack. It is not poisoned." He added when he saw her rub the small welts from the beetle bites.

"I'm sorry," Sakura said, dropping her hand.

"Hinata says that I am a very good listener," He said after a moment, then added at her blank look, "If you would like to talk about what is upsetting you."

That sounded like Hinata, Sakura decided, to turn the most taciturn member of their class into the best listener. Of course, it meant that Sakura's distress must be that obvious as well if Shino was offering her a chance to talk.

"Do you think Team 8 will stick together- I mean, after you all become chunin." Sakura asked. Team 8 were absolutely going to graduate, maybe not this exam or the next, but they were a solid grouping. Plus, keeping young members of some of the most prominent clans of Konoha together would be good for both safety and prestige. Sakura didn't doubt that some newly wealthy merchants would pay extra for the Hyuga heir to guard them during a trip to the capital.

"Yes." Shino answered without hesitation. Sakura's eyebrows rose. "Do you believe Team 7 will?"

"That's… what I'm trying to figure out." Sakura admitted. Then Shino did prove to be a good listen, because the story, though highly abbreviated, came out bit by bit as they made their way to the far side of the village for the training grounds. Sakura found herself opening up to the quiet boy about the tensions with her family in a way she never could to the orphaned Naruto and Sasuke. Her teammates had either never experienced or had forgotten the stresses of family disputes, but Shino, who had both parents in addition to two older brothers and a younger sister, understood well. By the end, Sakura felt exhausted but relaxed for the first time since overhearing the argument between her parents.

"Thanks for listening," She said eventually. "Hinata's right about your listening ability."

Shino bowed his head gravely. Before they reached the training grounds, Shino paused and seemed to consider her for a long moment.

"A large amount of Charka is required to host a colony." He announced.

"Oh?" Sakura couldn't understand the non-sequitor. "I'm sure it takes a lot."

"Not every child is able to host a colony at first." Shino continued as if she hadn't spoken. Sakura's mind raced to find the connection between Shino's careful words and their previous discussion. Was he opening up about his own family now? Was it his younger sister who was currently undergoing a colony transfer and he was nervous about her chakra stores. It made sense. Even in a powerful clan like the Aburame, there were fluctuations in abilities. "There are exercises we teach the children to build up their chakra. While the chakra gains are minimal, the exercises can strengthen the original talent enough to host a colony."

"Interesting." Sakura said. It would be awful, she decided, to be the only child in a clan who couldn't host insects. There were no other techniques to fall back on, no other skills. A very lonely experience-

"I could show you them." Shino concluded and Sakura actually missed a step.

"Really?" She asked, interest piquing. "Would that be ok? They sound like clan secrets and I wouldn't want you to get in trouble. But I've struggled with my chakra supply in the past, so if there's a way to increase it…" She trailed off hopefully.

"They aren't clan secrets," Shino said and Sakura bit back a cheer. "But I would appreciate if you could help me with something in return."

"Of course!" Sakura smiled, "Though, I'm not sure what. My only real technique isn't very impressive apparently." Shino was silent for a long moment and Sakura began mentally listing all the things Shino might need help with. Chakra control? No, his insect colony was well behaved. Research? Unlikely, Shino had received excellent grades at the Academy. Training? Maybe-

"Would you mind getting dinner with me?" He finally muttered so quietly that Sakura almost missed it.

"What?"

Shino ducked his chin until his face was mostly hidden under his collar and his words were barely audible. "My family has requested that I increase the time spent socializing. Why? They do not believe I spend enough time with ninja of my own age. Therefore, it is only logical that between your desire to increase your chakra reserves and my desire to engage in more social interactions, we find a beneficial trade. After all, you are the most socialized kunoichi in our class." For some reason, the comment charmed Sakura and warmed her cheeks.

"Well, there's Ino." She demurred. Ino, after all, took immediate command of any social situation she entered while Sakura still was quite shy in large groups.

"I disagree," Shino said, "After all, both Uzumaki and Uchiha have become much more sociable and well behaved after spending considerable time in your presence. Yamanaka Ino's teammates have not greatly matured since graduation, nor has Yamanaka herself. You, on the other hand have shown a much greater interest and focus on improving your abilities which were not present at the Academy."

Sakura wondered briefly at this back handed compliment, but was mostly pleased that someone other than herself had noticed the changes in her life. It was one thing to be proud of yourself, something entirely different to have someone else point out your growth. She'd have to remember to tell Naruto how much he had changed since the Academy. Sasuke too.

"Plus," Shino continued stiffly, "Yamanka is not fond of insects. You seem to appreciate their advantages."

It was true that Ino didn't like insects. Every time she saw one, she would shriek or make some dramatic gesture and implore Sakura to get rid of it. Sakura usually rolled her eyes and complied, but secretly suspected that Ino's paranoia was from being spied upon rather than a real fear or disgust.

"Well, Toru was my Dad's team mate." Sakura shrugged, "He would babysit me occasionally- I guess I was conditioned early on."

Shino nodded like he was storing the information away for further reflection. "Then we have an agreement for a date?"

"Sure! Though, Shino," Sakura cast him a quick, amused glance, "If you wanted to hang out, I'd still get dinner with you- even without the trade of Chakra exercises."

For a second, she could have sworn she'd seen a bright flash of red from behind Shino's collar and briefly wondered how often he had had a chance to interact with a Kunoichi one on one. During the Academy, his extreme reticence plus constant insect presence had kept most of the other girls far away. Hinata might be his first, non-clan female friend.

"Excellent. Are you free next Rat's day at 5?" He paused at the junction of the road that led off to the training grounds 4 through 8. "I'm meeting my team here."

Sakura quickly calculated the next week's activities and gave a nod- "Baring unexpected injury or mission assignment, I'll be there." Sakura promised, "Mind if I tag along too meet your team? I don't have anything planned until later." She wanted to hear more about these Chakra exercises, but also wanted to meet up with Hinata again. Ever since their meeting in training ground four combined with her mysterious message from the future, Sakura was concerned about the other kunoichi.

. . . . .

Hinata was already in the training yard attacking a wooden post with a ferocity that surprised Sakura. Especially since Hinata had spent two and a half hours this morning training with Team Gai, as it seemed she did ever morning now. Where did she get her energy?

Hinata stepped back from the post to survey her work. There were clear indents in the wood from her strikes. Either the Kunoichi has been increasing her power dramatically, or had been practicing at this post for a long time. Glancing at the worn sleeves of her coat and the fresh bandages around the girl's arms, Sakura guessed both.

"Hi, Hinata!" Sakura waved and Hinata raised a hand in return without turning around. Interesting, not only was she training her taijutsu, but she was training with her legendary dojutsu engaged- a double drain on her chaka and it wasn't yet noon. Would Naruto actually get tired if in addition to physical training, he had to practice some chakra technique? What if it was a chakra control test in addition to working out?

"Sakura- san, Shino. It is good to see you both." Hinata greeted them softly with a small bow as she turned around. Her eyes were distended, the veins clearly define against her face. It was an eerie view, giving the normally soft spoken girl a harsh, almost dangerous, look. Sakura's curiosity about her classmate was piqued once more.

"It looks like you're training hard, Hinata," Sakura said cheerfully, nodding to the post, "Is there anything I can help with?"

"No thank you, Sakura-san. But that is very kind of you to offer." Hinata said firmly.

"Ok. If you think of anything- let me know!" Sakura had doubted that her new message would be so easily solved, but it would have been nice to have some idea how to 'Help Hinata.' Unless, the message wasn't from her future self but from someone looking to sabotage them all? But that raised more questions than Sakura wanted to consider at the moment.

They were saved from other small talk by the familiar sound of Akamaru. All too soon after, Kiba burst into the clearing with the ever present nin-pup on his head. He whirled around to finish his elaborate explanation to the mildly amused Kurenai, but broke off suddenly. He spun back around with a delighted grin splitting his face.

"Hey! Sakura! Fancy meeting you here!" Kiba shouted, waving hugely. To her right, Hinata sighed softly. There were times when Kiba reminded Sakura of nothing so much as a sharp toothed Naruto.

"Hi Kiba. Kurenai-sensei." Sakura gave the woman a slight bow- still unsure how familiar she should be with the third Jounin instructor of their year. Asuma-sensei encourage a relaxed and casual energy and it was impossible to be formal with Kakashi, but the genjutsu master was more reserved then her fellows. Still, she raised a hand in a warm greeting as Kiba dashed forward. He slid to a stop beside Shino and threw his arm, surprisingly gently, around the Aburame as though they had walked in together.

"Yo- Sakura." He waved to Sakura as though seeing her for the first time and Sakura was struck with the sense that this upcoming conversation was somewhat rehearsed. "Do you have any idea how smart Shino is? He's like really smart- right Hinata? Remember that time when I was like 'wow, this is a really difficult problem. You know who could figure this out? Shino.' Remember when I said that Hinata?"

"Ah-um- yes." Hinata agreed gamely, once she could get a word in edgewise "Yes, Shino had a very clever solution to the problem." Akamaru yipped in agreement.

There was a pause until Sakura realized five pairs of eyes were waiting for a response, "Oh. Uh, yes. Shino-san was actually just able to help me find a possible solution to a tricky problem." She gave him a small smile, but the boy looked even more unresponsive than normal.

"Yeah-" Kiba continued without hearing her, "And did you know that Shino got the highest score for all the guys on the, uh, theoretical aspects of the shinobi life? And that- wait- you guys met?"

Sakura bit back a sarcastic response and the impulse to smack the boy on the head. Honestly, he was a dense as Naruto sometimes! Worse! Luckily, Hinata beat her to it, reaching over to tug on Kiba's sleeve.

"Sakura-san was in all of our classes, Kiba," She reminded him gently, "They have met before."

Kiba had one of those spirits that refused to be crushed. Rather than look embarrassed, he gave her a huge grin. "Awesome. So you guys know eachother! Shino likes book things. You like book things. That's, like two things right there!"

Several realizations struck Sakura at once. First, Shino's decision to ask her out to dinner might be at more than the request of his family. Second, his use of the word date had been deliberate and quite different than Sakura had intended. Third, his team mates obviously knew and were trying to assist him. Fourth, if she stayed around much longer, she wouldn't put it past Kiba to 'accidentally' kick her into Shino's arms.

"I-uh-" Her cheeks were warm all of a sudden. Sakura was torn between asking her question to Kurenai-sensei and running away. "I should-"

"So what are you doing later today," Kiba interrupted with a grin.

"Uh- going to the library?"

Kiba grinned hugely. "Perfect! Shino can definitely help you with that! Right Hinata? Finding books, carrying books-"

"I'm sure Sakura can manage her own books," Kurenai broke in with a barely suppressed smile. "And her own time. How is your training going Sakura? Hinata says that you're branching into some extra areas of study."

Sakura hadn't realized that gratitude could be so intense. "Good. Actually, I came to ask you a favor Kurenai-sensei. Kakashi-sensei thinks I am a genjutsu type, but doesn't know may genjutsu's- could you recommend some titles in the genin libraray to learn more?"

After Kiba's painfully obvious stereotyping, Sakura was almost loath give him more reason to think of her as a book girl, but her training overcame her pride. Shino, at least, was ignoring Kiba's elbow jabs and 'knowing' nods.

Kurenai looked thoughtful, "I'm honestly not sure how much Genjutsu can be learned out of books, Sakura. Many of the concepts are difficult to translate into writing. Plus, it has never been a focus of Konoha."

"Kurenai-sensei, you've mentioned this before and it has always confused me," Shino broke in, "Why? Because genjutsu is one of the three ninja arts. Why wouldn't we have an adequate library?" Before Kurenai could answer, Kiba interrupted.

"The Uchiha." He said, then glanced at Sakura and apologized. "Nothing against Sasuke. But my mum was telling me about how the Sharingan can see through any genjutsu. Not much point in studying a useless technique."

"But the Uchiha are part of Konoha." Sakura protested. "Just because they could see through genjustsu- other villages couldn't. It's not like we'd be using the techniques against our own people."

Team 8 exchanged glances and Sakura suddenly realized that she was the only clanless member. To her Konoha was Konoha- her home. But according to Ino, when you were from a clan, there was less unity than the normal population thought. Sakura was suddenly also reminded of a lesson from Asuma-sensei. He had told a story of an early alliance of ninja clans- long before their home was established by the first Hokage. What had started as a harmonious alliance, quickly fell apart when one of the clans proved stronger than the other two and demanded their way more and more. The lesson, they discovered, was to always make sure your forces were balanced. A dagger in everyone's back meant no one stepped out of line.

Sakura shook her head, trying to rid herself of the chill that suddenly crept over her spine. Konoha was her home. The one place she could trust her fellow ninjas. Doubt like that was poison to any teamwork.

Kurenai broke the growing silence. "Sakura-chan, you might try see if the library still has any of the journals of Kurama Sute."

"Who?" Sakura asked. She had eagerly studied the history of Konoha in the Academy, but had never heard of that woman before.

"Kurama-sama was one of the best genjutsu users in the time before the villages," Kurenai explained, "Not only was her skill remarkable, but she kept exquisite track of her training and development. If you can understand the context of someone's life, their jutsu occasionally makes more sense."

"They keep journals in the library?" Hinata asked.

Kurenai shook her head, "Not clan journals, Hinata. Or rather, only journals of disbanded clans." Hinata nodded sadly and seemed to sink back into herself as Kurenai turned back to Sakura.

"Let me think on this a bit more. We may be at a fortuitous time to develop new genjutsu talents." She said to herself softly.

"Thank you! This is incredibly helpful!" Sakura said, feeling once again centered on her path. Between Shino's help with chakra strengthening and studying an all but forgotten discipline in their village, she could put off the choice between desk job and losing her team for a while. All she had to do was make sure she could pass the next chunin exam.

"I'm happy to hear that," Kurenai gave her a small smile, before turning to her team. "Sakura, I'd invite you to stay in train with us, but today we will be focusing on how to use their combined skills to avoid capture on the run."

That was as a polite a dismissal as she had heard so Sakura made her good byes and headed to the library as Kiba cheered in the background.

A/N: Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews, follows and favs. You make my day!

10/8/18- new material! Because this fit the emotional beats of the story better than how it was previously outlined.


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: Hello! These first four chapters have been partially re-written and expanded. I suggest that returning readers return to the beginning of the Home Arc or at least the previous chapter, otherwise this one won't make much sense.

Chapter 5-

Sakura arrived at the library determined to look on the bright side of things through sheer force of will if necessary. Her father was able to keep his genin team together, but he had to give up a more notable and fulfilling career. Shino was going to teach her some chakra building exercise, but she'd have to go on a date with him which left her feeling a little exploitive. Kurenai was going to send her some book titles on genjutsu, but genjutsu was an art better learned in person and Kakashi didn't know many.

Everything had a trade-off, Sakura realized glumly as she shoved open the library door and made a beeline towards the help desk. If Naruto were here, he'd find a way to see the best in the situation. He had a remarkable ability to ignore the limits that held most people in check.

"Ah, Sakura-chan," Reizo, the assistant librarian, looked up with amusement, "What are you looking for today? Ancient astronomical phenomenon? Rare blood type variations? Poisons from distant lands?"

"Genjutsu today, Reizo-san."

"I'm almost disappointed." Reizo laughed as he turned towards the filing cabinets behind the librarian's desk. "That's so pedestrian."

Sakura leaned her elbows on the cool wood of the help desk and signed. "Well, my sensei says I 'm a genjutsu type. I'm going to see if I can find out what that means."

"I could never get genjutsu in school. Ninjutsu all the way. Earth type." Reizo admitted as he pulled out a small draw and began rifling through the cards. "Any further specification? I don't want to hand you fifty different titles."

"The journal of Kurama Sute," Sakura supplied and almost laughed at Reizo's look of confusion. It hadn't been too long since she had been in exactly that position.

"Who?"

Sakura shrugged, "An old genjutsu user. Kurenai-sensei recommended it to me. She said if I learn more about her life, I might be better able to understand her techniques."

"Well, if I was to trust anyone about genjutsu, it would be Kurenai-sama. Especially after the training she had to do. Here we are!" Reizo pulled out the card with a flourish. "One Journal of Kurama Sute coming right up. Oh, it's an old one too. Just go-" He paused and peered at the card. "Wait. I don't recognize these directions."

"And here I thought you knew every book in the library," Sakura said with a small smile.

"So did I. Wait here one sec." With practiced ease, Reizo reached for his crutches and hauled himself from his chair. Sakura tried not to stare as he made his way to the back office, but the sight of the folded pant leg disturbed her on a visceral level.

Once, when she was younger, she had asked her father why the hospital hadn't supplied him with a prosthetic limb, like she had seen on several active shinobi. With a sigh, her father had explained the issues with procurement and the medical field. In the end, it boiled down to that effective prosthetics were expensive, crutches were cheap, and there were plenty of ninja who weren't enough of an asset to the village to outfit with the former. Still, if crutches bother Reizo, he never showed it and his ease of moving through the stacks beilied the impediment.

Curious, Sakura picked up the abandoned card and saw a location she'd never seen before- fifth floor of the southern wing. The current library only had three floors and was considered one of the taller buildings in Konoha. Also, there were only two wings- the east and the west. Maybe there was a secret library? Or a special secondary location only for genjutsu? Or?

"After 12 years, we should have identified all of these."

The card was plucked from Sakura's hand by the crisp, efficient voice of Kobayashi Tsuto, the Head Librarian. Sakura had no reason to believe that the old, thin woman had any reason to dislike her, but she could never shake the feeling that Kobayashi-san was barely holding the edge of her temper around Sakura. Reizo gave her an apologetic smile from behind the woman.

"I don't recognize the location," Sakura started but was interrupted by the librarian.

"Well, why would you. The building, and all the books it held, were destroyed long before you were born." The older woman snapped.

"Destroyed?!" Sakura cried, "How!" How was she going to learn genjutsu if her only means to learning had vanished before she could ever read it!

"The nine tail attack." The librarian replied shortly, then glanced over and gave Sakura a dismissive glance. "Everyone goes on about how terrible the loss of life, but they entirely forget to mention the greater tragedy: the loss of knowledge! We had a beautiful library- much larger, much nicer than this one- so naturally, that is where the nine-tail chose to destroy first. We lost over a third of all our volumes including the entire genjutsu wing. What little there was. I've spent years- years!- trying to cull these cards from our catalogue. This must be the last one."

With a snap of her fingers, the card burst into flame and vanished into ashes. Sakura's heart quelled as if the book itself had been burned rather than its catalogue number. Sakura had heard many stories of the nine tail attack, but never how it destroyed a good part of the library. Still, she'd rather have her uncles back and her mother happy, than that journal. She set her jaw.

"Well, can you recommend a different book on genjutsu?" She pressed. Reizo shook his head and the Head librarian only snorted as she began to sort through the catalogue as if looking for more things to set on fire.

"Not from our library."

Sakura knew a dead end when she heard it. "Alright, what about samurai."

. . . . . .

As she headed towards the northwest corner of the library, Sakura was struck with how small a collection they actually did have. Their entire sealing library could fit onto two book shelves. Now, granted, they might have other titles with chunin and Jounin clearance, but the genin section seemed very cramped.

Sakura browsed through the abbreviated sections half-heartedly- stopping occasionally to read a title or add a book to her ever-expanding mental 'to-read' list. There were, bizarrely enough, at least three separate ninja cookbooks.

When she reached the samurai section, Sakura was disappointed. The sum total of samurai knowledge available to her comprised a single half a shelf. Disappointing but not surprising. The chance of a genin running into a samurai was about as likely as her running into a missing-nin. The chunin floor probably had a more extensive collection, Sakura decided glumly. Maybe after she looked through these she'd check out the civilian library. Sakura began to pull all the books off the shelf but froze when a gap opened to reveal a shock of very familiar blond hair.

Ino?

That was unexpected; Ino hated libraries. The air apparently dried out her skin and the one time Team 10 was hired to dust library shelves, Ino had complained about it for a solid week. Why did they need all these books, she groused to Sakura over one of their dinners, when experience was the best teacher. Anything you learned out of a book was, at best, second hand and couldn't hold a candle to actually surviving an encounter. At the time, Sakura had immediately leapt to the defense of her precious books, but after her experience in Wave, she was beginning to agree with Ino. Memorizing the text book definition of a killing intent had no bearing on the reality of surviving it. Life was more complicated than the simplified narratives her heroines encountered. They never had to deal with paranoid parents, being forced to move out of her house, being left behind by her team-

Sakura shook her head sharply. Maybe more time stuck in her own thoughts was a bad idea. Ino could always be counted on for an amusing distraction. Sakura gratefully re-shelved the books and popped her head out from around the bookshelf.

"Ino pig!" Sakura waved to her friend and grinned as Ino jumped. Clearly, she'd surprised the girl, "I didn't know you could read!"

"Sakura!" Ino glanced up, startled, and then leaped to her feet- not to hug Sakura but to sweep her collection of scrolls and books into her bag. Sakura blinked surprised and blinked again when one of the books fell out. It had a black cover. Not a book at all, Sakura realized as she stooped to pick it up. It was an intelligence report. A classified intelligence report. She glanced at Ino in surprise.

"Give it back!" Ino held her hand out imperiously, but with a tight, sharp tension to her eyes, that spoke of real stress. As if Sakura might turn and run off or open it to read.

"What is it?" Sakura handed it back to her, title down to avoid any breach of security though she was very curious. It couldn't be anything too sensitive. Ino was still a genin, after all, and the library was hardly the most secure place to study. Her curiosity grew when Ino snatched it back and stuffed it into her satchel. Snapping the bag shut, she swung it over her shoulders, placing herself squarely between the information and Sakura.

Sakura glanced at her friend and her worry turned to alarm. Ino looked terrible. Dark circles underlined bloodshot eyes. Her hair had been stuffed into an unkempt bun rather than brushed into her signature, sleek ponytail and the hand that was wrapped white-knuckled around the strap of her bag had its nails nibbled down to nubs. Ino only chewed on her nails when she was really worried about something.

"Ino-" she started concerned, but her friend cut her off with a snort. She was staring at Sakura like she had seen a ghost.

"You're one to talk. Your giant forehead looks even bigger when you're pale." Ino said. She had correctly guessed the train of Sakura's thoughts. "Didn't you hear? Overworked brainiac went out of style last year."

"Better that than stressed out housewife," Sakura rejoined, not feeling at all relieved by the familiar banter. The words were familiar, but the tension in Ino's body and her searching eyes were not. "Did your pig nose finally break every mirror in your house?"

"Ha! Did-" Ino had opened her mouth to respond, but she faltered. Her gaze suddenly dropped and the bag slipped off her shoulder. Before Sakura could apologize or inquire, Ino leapt forward and wrapped Sakura in a tight, desperate hug. Sakura hugged her back, alarmed to see she was shaking.

"Ino!"

"I was so worried, you idiot." Ino whispered, "You were gone for weeks.-"

"We had a mission!" Sakura protested, feeling a sudden stab of guilt. She hadn't exactly let Ino know they were going on their first C-mission away, but that's why gossip was such a recreational sport in Konoha. A ninja could be sent on a last minute mission and leave feeling confident that as long as at least one person knew, the information would get filtered back to their loved ones. Sakura had left a note for her parents but plenty of people had seen Team Seven leaving through the eastern gates.

"What C-rank lasts three weeks?" Ino said, proving that yes, she was a linch pin in village gossip. Living at the center of the Yamanaka web of intelligence, Ino was privy to most any gossip she could want to know.

"It... was extended." Sakura hedged. To her knowledge, Kakashi hadn't sent any message back to the village about their extended stay. But the outcomes of the mission had been vague and allowed for an extended return time depending on the speed of the bridge being built. If they had been gone for over two months, a team would have been sent out to investigate. But the Hokage had probably figured any team with Kakashi-sensei was as good as safe.

"Ha. Perfect." Ino finally sniffed and took a step back to investigate Sakura critically, even as she kept her voice light. "You were probably lounging on some sun-soaked beach and admiring Sasuke-"

"Wasn't."

"-While I was stuck here, terrified out of my mind." Her voice shifted, transforming into the familiar tones of Ino's least favorite aunt. "Couldn't sleep. Couldn't eat. Not a word from you-"

"Ino!" Sakura laughed, "Come on. I was with Sasuke and Naruto-" At her teammate's name, Ino immediately stilled, casting a frightened glance over Sakura. Ino had never, ever been frightened of Naruto before. She thought he was an idiot- bound to get himself killed- but he had never scared, no, never terrified her. And yet, here she was looking like Sakura had mentioned the God of Death himself.

"Ino," Sakura said slowly, watching her friend carefully. "What don't I know about Naruto?"

Ino started. "What are you talking about? I didn't even mention him."

"No one does." Sakura agreed steadily. "No one ever does, but everyone avoids him all the same. Ever since he was a kid. He's a great guy, Ino. If you just got to know him, you would see-"

"He's not what you think!" Ino broke in, her voice shrill. Sakura stilled, smiling faintly in the triumph of finally catching someone admitting something about her friend. Ino was going to tell her what was going on, that much Sakura would make sure of.

"Then what is he?" She asked. Ino's eyes jumped around the small section of the library, looking for evesdroppers. They were alone, but Ino just laughed instead, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear with shaking fingers.

"He's an idiot, Sakura." She said, drawing out the syllables of her name, as she bent down to pick up her abandoned bag. "I can't believe we're wasting time discussing him when you're finally back in town! The Full Moon Café has a new parfait special!"

Before Sakura could protest, Ino linked their arms and quickly tapped out the code for 'follow' on her arm. All academy students learned the standard Shinobi Basic hand signals that would let them communicate with almost any other ninja team. When they became chunin, they would learn signal system unique to Konoha and there were rumors of Anbu having an even more secret code. Inohad devoured these lessons and quickly developed a private repertoire of gestures, code words, and signs, mostly Sasuke centric, for her and Sakura.

"Sounds great." Sakura finally relented as she let Ino drag her to the door, "My dad gave me some money too. My treat."

. . . . . .

The quickest way to attract suspicion in a ninja village was to act like you had something to hide. People would definitely notice two girls running off to a secluded training ground to talk. But seeing Sakura and Ino leave the library in an animated argument on their way to their favorite cafe? No one raised an eye. After all, the Full Moon Cafe was one of the most popular cafes in Konoha for the current and recently graduated Academy students, especially the kunoichi. Its main draw was the elaborate and colorful seasonal parfaits and the ever present chatter of the dozens of girls who flocked there every day. A babble of voices could hide a conversation as well as perfect solitude.

By taking the western road around the village, they timed their entrance right at the tail end of the Academy lunch hour which meant the Café was full, but emptying. During the walk, Sakura brought Ino up to date on her mission abroad, carefully omitting any mention of the fight on the Bridge. Ino was suitably horrified at the switch from a C to an A rank mission and promised to talk to her father about better vetting in the mission office.

"It just doesn't make any sense," Ino complained as she pushed past a group of Academy students to get to the front counter, "We haven't had any reports of diplomatic issues in Wave."

"You're allowed to read foreign intel?" Sakura asked. Inoichi was usually pretty tight-fisted with his reports. He rarely talked about his work at home and Ino rarely asked about it.

"This is just basic civilian Intel- not classified." Ino clarified as they stepped up the counter to order. "Two Fall specials please."

Sakura bit back a sigh as she looked over the menu. She actually preferred the strawberry parfait, but Ino had a habit of just taking over any conversation and making decisions. A great trait for a future chunin commander. Very annoying in a friendship. But she was too intrigued by Ino's mention of civilian intelligence, to dwell on being irritated.

"Civilian Intel?" Sakura asked as she paid for their parfaits and collected their number. "From a Geisha network?"

Ino hummed in agreement as she glanced over the crowded room for a suitably discrete table. "The Society for Contemplation of the Soul of the Lotus." At Sakura's askance look, Ino laughed, "That's their official title, we call them the Sumi Lotus. They mostly keep us up to date on the intrigues of the Fire capital and major towns, but are supposed to keep an eye on Wave as well. to provide all our information for the Fire Nation, but also provide us with intel on Wave and some other small, non-critical nations."

"Really." Sakura frowned as she felt a strand of dread creep into her stomach. "Please let me know if you find anything else out. I'm… curious. After everything that happened there." That seemed safe a safe enough reason to give.

"Sure thing." Ino agreed absently, setting her sight on a table in the far corner where two academy girls were gossiping avidly over their drinks. But, much like her namesake, Ino was rarely deterred by others convenience. In short order, the two students were sent on their way, drinks clutched in their hands, Ino and Sakura made themselves comfortable at the table and their parfaits were delivered. Ino immediately launched into a long description of the escort mission Team 10 had undertaken to the capital, her new contact, Princess Yuu, and how annoying Asuma's quizzes were without Sakura around to bounce ideas off of.

Sakura listened politely, though her gaze kept drifting to Ino's satchel. Another ten minutes passed before Sakura realized Ino had no intention of bringing up Naruto again.

"Ino." Sakura finally leaned forward to interrupt Ino's retelling of the Akimich clan meeting which happened a week ago after ten minutes had passed with no indication of Ino switching to the subject of Naruto. "I really want to know about the new hobby you picked up while I was away." She gave a significant glance at Ino's satchel. Ino glanced around the restaurant again and tapped her ring finger twice against the table. This was one of their personal signs that someone was listening in on their conversation.

Sakura bit back a sigh and nodded. It was a game that they had played a lot as friends and then rivals in the Academy. Personally, Sakura thought Ino was a little too paranoid about people listening in on mundane conversations, but it was good training for her future career. So she sat back and let Ino finish regaling her with all the dishes the Akimichi had served, how long it took for everyone to weigh in on all the clan issues and how bored Ino was.

"But of course I had to go- not just to support Choji, who actually had some very interesting points- his dad was very, very proud of him- but because of what Tenten said." Ino paused to take a bite of her parfait and then grimaced at the taste.

"Tenten?" Sakura asked, suddenly tuning back into the conversation.

"Tall girl, weird weapon obsession." Ino rolled her eyes as Sakura began to protest and held up a pinky finger. Another one of their signs- Ino had something to confess, but couldn't say it directly. Sakura leaned in, suddenly interested.

"Anyways, after she explained team specialties, I realized that I'm basically stuck with Shikamaru and Choji for the rest of my life, you know? Not that I mind. I mean, they're idiots, but they're my idiots? I mean, our mothers all coordinated their cycles so we'd be born within a few weeks of each other. They're like brothers- only closer."

"Right," Sakura agreed slowly, "Ino-Shika-Cho is a long established team." Were her team mates like brothers? She never had siblings, but Naruto and Sasuke didn't feel like family- not like how her parents felt. It was different. Sakura frowned.

"Exactly. But that got me thinking. Not only am I going to be paired with them for the rest of my life, but I'm also going to become head of the Yamanaka clan and, eventually, take over my father's position as Head of Intelligence."

Sakura felt the faintest trace of bitterness at that casual pronouncement. How nice would it be to have everything mapped out for you? Ino's team was going to stick together no matter what happened at the next chunin exam. Her career path, her jutsus to master, her specialty, even her future home- it was all laid out for her as clearly as a garden path. Not that Ino didn't have her own share of worried- Riko's illness alone- but Sakura desperately wanted some of that certainty and assurance in her own life.

"So, I spoke to my father about teaching me some more clan techniques. Why waste time on basic skills that I already know?" Ino shrugged a shoulder and Sakura gave her a tight smile, thinking of her own team's lack of basic skills at the beginning. "It took a bit, but he finally came around time my way of thinking."

Sakura couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in amusement. 'Finally came around' was undoubtedly an understatement. Ino had her father wrapped around her little finger, but Inoichi was serious about his work. How many hours of scheming, arguing, fighting, wearing down and finally persuading her father had it taken? But that was Ino. As soon as her goal was accomplished, all the work that went into it didn't matter. Sakura wished she could hold her effort so lightly. Instead, when she accomplished something, everyone needed to know.

"That's great!" Sakura said at last. Ino shrugged a shoulder again, but didn't look very happy.

"He agreed to teach me, but only if I passed a few tests." Ah. There was always a catch with the Yamanaka's.

"What are the tests?" Sakura asked, glancing at the bag again. Were those classified reports part of it? Or proof Ino had passed.

"So glad you asked," Ino said with a roll of her eyes and straightened in her seat. " 'If you want to be an intelligence agent, you need to prove your intelligence.'" Sakura almost grinned, at Ino's on point impression of her father. She captured his inflections perfectly. Ino shared her grin for a moment, before it darkened.

"Well, Intelligence and nerves. Basically, he gave me a puzzle to solve." Ino patted her full satchel and frowned, looking more tired than Sakura had seen her for a while. "This is a collection of scrolls, old reports and books. If I could determine the secret that they suggested, he'd train me in more family techniques. Otherwise, I'd have to wait until I was a chunin."

"Oh, That's. . . " That seemed like Inoichi honestly. As bright and cheerful as the Yamanka's seemed on the surface, they were a very perceptive family. Inoichi had been training Ino to look underneath the underneath for years. But apparently, there were shadows that hid under the surface. "But you figured it our right?"

For the first time, uncertainty and fear crossed her friend's face. Ino bit her lip. "I- I don't know. I think so, I can't see any other explanation. But if it's true. . ." Ino closed her eyes and shrugged her shoulders back nervously. Alarm rose like acid in Sakura's throat. What could be so horrible about her sweet and cheerful teammate?

"And this test. It was about Naruto?"

Ino hesitated, then nodded miserably. Sakura lurched forward, forgetting that they were in public. "Ino! You have to tell me. He's my teammate!" Was he sick? Or in danger? Or hurt-

"I can't!" Ino hissed, eyes darting around the now emptier café to see how was watching. "Sakura, I would if I could, but I can't. It's against the law."

"The law?" Sakura echoed, remembering the fragment of conversation she'd overheard from her parents. "The Hokage's law?" Ino nodded again and Sakura frowned at her friend, mind whirling. "It's against the law to mention or speak of it?" She finally asked and Ino nodded again. "Is it against the law to write- no. Never mind. That's the same. What about your books?" She looked hopefully at Ino's satchel. If Ino had been able to figure out what was going on from just reading the clues, Sakura definitely could!

Ino hesitated and Sakura applied some more pressure. "He's my teammate Ino. And no one else is going to be able to tell me because of the Hokage's law. Don't I deserve to know? If it's something important? Something dangerous?" She added thinking about the fear in her mother's eyes. Honestly, she and Sasuke should have been told before being put on a team with Naruto. Information was important! You always learned about the potential triggers, weakness, or instabilities of your new team. At least, that's what her mother always hinted at.

"I can't give you all of it," Ino decided after another, tortured moment. "I promised my father I wouldn't let the reports out of my sight. But the books. I mean, I need to return them to the library anyways. If you're willing to take them back, I can stop you from reading them."

"Of course not," Sakura agreed, nerves straining as Ino pulled the satchel onto her lap and began taking out books. A recent history of Konoha since the Third Shinobi war. A book of ancient mythology. A book on sealing on humans- Sakura hadn't been able to find this one in the stacks. She cracked the cover of this one, annoyed to see it was another, complicated treaties. The entire first chapter was just about medical terminology.

"Ino, thank you. This is-"

"Don't thank me. Just-" Sakura looked up to see Ino looking at her in concern. "Don't hate me for what you find out."

A/N: And the plot thickens!

Thank you to everyone who had reviewed! Your conversations definitely help me flesh out the story, find weak points, and suggest new ideas! Let me know what you liked, what you didn't like, and what you'd like to see more of.

1/2/18- spelling suggestions fixed. Thank you falterth!

10/8/18- The perfect is the enemy of the good. I realized I could spend ten more months tweaking word choices and agonizing over emotional beats, or we could move along with this story. Thank you for your patience!


	34. Chapter 34

Naruto POV

Today was the day!

Naruto woke up before his alarm and barely restrained himself from jumping around his room or dashing out to their meeting place five hours before they had agreed to meet. Today was the day! After three horrible, terrible, awful, boring days, today was the day Team Seven made its comeback!

Yeah, the past three days had been pretty bad. When Sakura had told him that they would get time off after their first, real, awesome mission, he'd been psyched! There had been four thousand ideas of things to do to cram into those three days off. Eat ramen, play card games, sleep till noon, climb the Hokage monument, show Sasuke that one really cool tree Sakura and he had discovered, hang out and not bother with boring chore missions or training and -

And then Sakura's parents hadn't let him in the house.

Which made total sense! They hadn't seen Sakura in weeks. They probably wanted to spend some one on one time with her. Sakura complained a lot about how little she got to see both her parents at the same time, so having all three of them home at the same time was precious. He totally understood why she'd want to spend some time off with them.

Sasuke hadn't gotten it. Well, he'd gotten it after Naruto explained it a few dozen times. Then Sasuke had sulked and stormed off to his house and Naruto hadn't seen anyone in days!

It had been weird to not have his team around. Especially after being able to see them all the time in the Wave! Actually a lot of things were weird. Naruto couldn't remember the last time he had this much time to himself- no school, no training, no missions, no team. Life was boring!

He also hadn't remembered what life was like in Konoha on his own. It started when he glanced in his fridge and saw only the rotting remains of what might have been salad greens that Sakura had bought him in the unfounded hope he'd eat more vegetables when they weren't around. They stunk and he threw them away gratefully.

Still, he wanted to have snacks on hand incase his team came by the apartment and Sasuke was super annoying about the importance of having more than milk for breakfast, so he went shopping.

He'd gone shopping in Wave for Tsunami once or twice. It didn't take him long to learn the handful of vendor's names and expect them to greet him as he ran through the village on important Ninja business. Some people ignored him, but no one avoided him. He was one of the ninja who had helped save their village- not as cool as Zabuza or Haku, but ok.

The villagers in Konoha, however… Well, he guessed he was used to this behavior. No one made eye contact with him. Or they glared when he forgot himself and shouted a greeting. Some would even cross to the other side of the street when he turned a corner.

In the market itself, vendors were suddenly busy, or heading out to lunch, or serving other customers even though he'd been standing there and they'd just walked up. No wonder he had made a habit of heading straight to the processed food aisle! The food was cheap and it involved no other interactions with people.

Naruto had hoped that people acted different when he'd earned his forehead protector and become a real ninja of Konoha. Instead, he was beginning to realize just how much a shield Sasuke and Sakura provided. Everyone knew Sasuke- so even though no one was friendly, they still respected him. And Sakura was polite and bright and from a good family so everyone loved her! With them around, they were Team Seven and worth treating well. By himself?

It reminded Naruto of some bad memories of childhood.

But that was all going to end today, believe it! Team Seven would be a team again and everything would be great!

. . . . . . . .

"Sakura-chan! Good morning! Did you have a good time off? Did you do anything cool?"

Sakura-chan was perched on the edge of the railing, staring down into the water she could walk on as easily as if it was land. She'd shown off her skills to them while Tazuna finished the bridge. Kakashi had been super impressed and suggested that he and Sasuke learn water walking as soon as they mastered tree walking. Mostly, it had resulted in Sakura cracking up while Sasuke and he fell into the cold water again and again. She'd promised to help him when they got back to Konoha.

Naruto broke into a giant grin as he ran up to the bridge. Sakura was everything he had missed in the past three days. The familiar strands of pink hair, the familiar Haruno crest, the troubled look in her eyes. Seeing her familiar figure on the bridge ignited a spark of joy so bright it almost seared away the loneliness of the past three days.

But as he came closer, she looked different- more fragile than when he had seen her at home, not three days ago. Like she was trying desperately to hold herself together. Her hair was freshly washed and her skin freshly scrubbed with that pink scented soap that Sasuke had secretly confessed he hated but that Naruto always associated with their home cooked meals and safe, comfortable evenings at the Haruno home.

And her head snapped up when he jumped onto the bridge, but her face didn't light up. Usually she would at least wave and recently she'd always grinned when she saw him. Now, her eyes were dark- a splash of concealer a shade too light doing a poor job hiding her exhaustion on her still tanned face. As he took a step neared, arms half rising with the promise of a hug, her scent tinged, spiking sharp with fear. Her knuckles were white on the bridge and it was only the sudden line of iron tension through her arms that kept her from leaning away.

Naruto dropped his arms. "H-hey- Sakura-chan."

Suddenly, like a mask flashing over her face, her expression flipped to the pleasant neutrality that she adopted when under great stress. She smiled at him without showing her teeth and raised her fingers in a sign of greeting that she had abandoned four years ago.

"Hey Naruto! Did you enjoy your time off?" Her voice was light, chirping, as different than the normal Sakura's voice as any attempt to disguise it. He knew she thought she was acting perfectly normal and knew that if anyone other than he or maybe Ino saw her, they'd think she was ok. Sakura had always been a good actress- ever since the Academy. But she had begun to relax and show her true self, damnit! What had happened?

"Y-yeah! It was great!" He lied to her through a grin. If something was bothering Sakura, he didn't want to add to her worries, believe it! Plus, Sakura was smart and he trusted her. Something was bothering her, but if she need help, she'd come to him. Right?

"Good!" She chirped back, "I spent a lot of time in the library." She was studying him now, leaning forward on tense limbs, body twisted awkwardly around to face him. Behind the mask, her eyes had taken a calculating, assessing light as though trying to understand something about him. Naruto forced his arms to hang loose and un-defensive by his sides.

"Yeah? Learn anything interesting?" He asked. Something sharpened to a hair fine point behind Sakura's gaze and she leaned even further forward.

"I was learning about seals." She said slowly, eyes flicking over his face as if she were memorizing his expression , "And how they can be used on people."

"Huh. Sounds interesting Sakura-chan! Tell me more!" Naruto honestly had no idea what she was talking about, or much interest. But if Sakura wanted to lecture about something then he would listen, believe it!

Apparently his reaction wasn't the right one, because Sakura slumped slightly and pulled back. Naruto felt a sharp stab of panic ripple through him. What did he do wrong? Sakura usually loved talking about her extracurricular studies! Should he have asked a question? Or seemed more interested? Maybe he should try learning about seals on his own?

Fighting back the urge to dash to the library and check out all the books and scrolls on sealing he could find, Naruto dug into belt. He produced one of his clone kunai and held it out to her- hoping that it would cut through the tension between them as easily as a normal kunai would cut through a person.

"Oh yeah- before I forget- here's another one."

His clones didn't mind transforming into Kunai- not if it meant Sasuke or Sakura would be protected! Mostly, it was like going into a deep dreamless sleep. He didn't remember any of the time spent transformed, just the flash of location when the kunai poofed. It would be cool if he could remember some things! Like listening to conversations or other stuff, but it probably be pretty boring. He'd suggested that Sasuke and Sakura just have a teammate follow him around, but Sakura had shot that idea down really quick. So keeping a clone-kunai on them was the obvious compromise. They were a good team!

"Oh- thanks."

Was it his imagination or had she hesitated as she took the clone-

"It's crazy you can make these, Naruto." She slid her finger along the edge of the blade, light enough to know it was sharp but not cut herself. "Most people don't have the chakra for one Kage Bushin, but you can make hundreds. And keep them in transformed states for days."

It was like she was talking to herself, seeing something familiar for the first time. Naruto hesitated, wondering at what she was getting at. Until their training, he never knew he had large amounts of Charka. Hell, he'd barely even knew what chakra was! But she was the one who had told him.

"Well, yeah, I guess." He laughed, then before he could stop himself asked, "Is it a problem?"

Sakura glanced at the knife in her hand then spun it through her fingers. Her dexterity was awesome! She always picked up the hand signals for new jutsu way before anyone else in their class- even Sasuke!

"I don't know." She said softly, eyes hard as they stared into the middle distance. She only did that when something was really bothering her. Naruto had the sinking suspicion that today he was the one who was causing her to worry and wrinkle her forehead.

So, he was really glad when she put it in her pack. Clearly whatever he did to bother he wasn't too big a problem! Otherwise, she'd have refused to take the knife, right?

Right, He agreed with himself.

So what was the problem then? Naruto frowned as he tried to review the past few days. The problem was that he hadn't seen Sakura in forever! Honestly, if he didn't keep close tabs on her, it was nearly impossible to guess what she was thinking!

Maybe that was the problem? They just hadn't seen much of each other. So all they needed to do was spend more time together, believe it!

"Hey- hey Sakura-chan-

"Naruto, do you-"

They broke off simultaneously, staring at each other. Her face was pinched, considering as she stared at him. "Go ahead, Naruto." She said.

"Uh- do you want to go on a date tonight?" He asked, a little desperately. "It's been ages since you've had ramen. You can get whatever you want!"

Going on their dates was when he felt closest t her- well anyone. Spending some of her hard won free time with him- not obligated time like on missions or during training- that was the best! They'd go on a date and he'd hear everything that happened in the past three days and if he'd done something wrong, he'd apologize and make everything better!

"I can't." She said shortly, with a grimace of dissatisfaction- very different than the calculating look she'd given him earlier. Panic crept back into his stomach, but Naruto forced his face to stay neutral as Sakura took a steadying breath and continued, "I promised Mom I'd go through some old clothes and books in the attic while she's in town tonight."

"Oh? Why?"

Sakura looked uncomfortable and shifted her position, throwing one foot over the railing to kick at the main support. Her scent shifted again, from tinged with fear to infused with worry. Maybe this was what had been bothering her?

When she finally answered, it was with an annoyed sigh, "She wants to know what I want to put into long term storage and what can be donated to the orphanages, since they are selling the house." The last section was said in a quick mumble, but Naruto caught it.

"WHAT?" He yelled, "They are selling your house?"

Sakura nodded in miserable agreement, "I mean, I guess it makes sense. Since we're doing away missions, the house is empty. And it's expensive to keep it going. And there's other families with kids in the Academy who need it-"

"But it's your HOME." Naruto protested, "You grew up there! They can't take it from you!"

"They can, actually," Sakura drew a leg to her chest and planted her chin on it. Her eyes were dark with grief, "It's what Mom and Dad want to do. And I get it. It's just…"

Naruto understood. Not perfectly, since he didn't have any great affection for his apartment. But Sakura loved her home! He saw the pride in her eyes when she cooked in her kitchen and knew where every sauce and spice was hidden. How she lectured Sasuke on how to properly fold the towels because the linen cupboard at the top of the stairs was too narrow. How she displayed her books in her room and laughed about the bright yellow paint, even though she kept saying it was too babyish and she wanted to paint it white soon. Sakura loved her home.

No wonder she had been so upset! Naruto was giddy with relief as he slumped against the bridge next to her. It wasn't him. It was her home life!

"So, where are you going to live now?" Naruto wondered if there would be room for team sleepovers in her new place. Maybe when her parents were out of town. If they were moving somewhere smaller, he could sleep on the couch or the floor. He wouldn't mind.

"I…. don't know." Sakura admitted in a flat voice. "Mum says genin can get underwritten rents if they apply early enough and there's enough housing. So, I guess I'll have to look into that-"

"Wait- they aren't letting you stay with them?" Naruto's voice rose into an uncomprehending whine. "They're your parents."

Parents were supposed to protect and care and be there for you! That's what the books said. That's what they had promised at the orphanage!

"I'm an adult." Sakura says awkwardly, "According to the Village. And mum said I can stay on the couch until I'm sorted. Both you and Sasuke live by yourselves, Naruto." She finished crossly as if his astonishment and disappointment were a personal affront. Naruto quickly shut his mouth.

"Yeah- but-" Naruto started, but then decided that he didn't want to explain the crushing emptiness of unlocking a warped door and breathing in the stale, dead air of an unlived in apartment that had been abandoned for three weeks. How the nights were darker when it was just him under the flicker of his kitchen light. How the silence pressed in during the morning as he brushed his teeth and knew he wouldn't see his team mates for another two days. Sakura had enough on her shoulders- he didn't want to add more.

Suddenly, he had the most brilliant and perfect idea! He leapt forward and grabbed her hands, ignoring her quick flinch. Almost jumping in excitement, he shouted.

"Sakura! Come live with me! It's not the nicest place. But there's enough room and-"

"I don't think that's a good idea, Naruto." Sakura said flatly and pulled her hands out of his grip. All of a sudden, her openness disappeared and she seemed even more shut off than before. The scent of worry was once again tinged by fear. So, it wasn't just her home life. There was still something else bothering her, but he didn't know how figure it out. Instead, he plastered a smile on his face. Maybe a good distraction was in order.

"No worries, Sakura-chan!" He said, shoving his hands in his pockets, "When you're ready to move- let me know! I'll get my clones to help! Eh- eh- what was it that you were going to ask?"

Sakura glanced up and her fingers raised to her cheek. They hesitated, almost tracing a line along her skin. "Naruto, do you know-"

"Good morning my cute little genin!"

Before Sakura could finish her question, they were interrupted by the appearance of Kakashi-sensei who was leading a scowling Sasuke towards the bridge. Almost immediately, the mask of Sakura flipped back over her face and whatever question she was going to ask or worry that had been bothering her, disappeared behind her bright return greeting.

Naruto scowled at their sensei. He'd been so close!

But, this was fine. Nothing was the matter. Just because Sakura's parents didn't like him, and she was acting different, didn't mean things were going to change between them. Believe it!

A/N: Thank you all for your follows, favs and most of all reviews. You all make my day and give me the inspiration and drive to continue this story!


	35. Chapter 35

Scene 7

No fangs.

No fangs, no claws, no tail, no slit eyes- not even a seal on his belly. There was nothing particularly fox-ish about Naruto before she knew of Jinchuriki. Even with her new, unwanted, knowledge, there was nothing that screamed 'here was a blood thirsty killer barely restrained from finishing the work he started 13 years ago housed in the body of your best friend.'

Which meant that either she and Ino both had independently reached the same, incorrect conclusion from the same, incomplete evidence or the marks of Naruto's sealing were more subtle than she'd realized.

Sakura wanted to be wrong. She had never wanted to be so wrong about anything before in her life- not even during the month when all the girls were convinced that Sasuke liked the green haired girl in the class below them.

But the evidence was there!

Naruto, just a baby- the perfect vessel for the terrible Nine-tail, who had vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Why? Naruto- as a toddler, forgotten, ignored, neglected- even hated! Why? Naruto- the genin, who had more chakra than anyone she had ever met. Why?

Maybe she was wrong. Maybe there was another explanation that she just couldn't see. Ino's fear could have influenced her conclusion- led her down the wrong direction. How could Naruto be the nine-tail? He'd never mentioned it! Never told her. And he told her everything.

Which meant there had to be something else. The nine tail could have been killed or sealed into someone else or-

"Ow-" Sakura paused in mid step, rubbing her forehead. Glancing down, she saw the small rock which had just bounced off her forehead. What in the-

The answer materialized in the form of Sasuke, stepping out of the shadowed alley way with another rock between his fingers. Wonderful- another mystery solved. Sakura sighed. Honestly, she couldn't deal with Sasuke and his lectures right now. Not when-

"You were supposed to dodge that." Sasuke accused and scowled as though her distracted walk through her own, perfectly secure village was a direct affront to his sensibilities. Sakura matched his frowned and kicked the pebble to the side of the road.

"Yeah- well- I was busy thinking." She answered. Apparently, incorrectly as his scowl deepened into a frown.

"If that had been a kunai, you would have died."

"Well, luckily it wasn't," Sakura snapped, "And luckily we're in our home village and safe."

"Tch." Sasuke clicked his tongue and looked away, shoulders tense. Sakura realized belatedly that the village might not feel as safe to the boy whose family was murdered within its very walls and that maybe the village might not actually be as safe as she imagined. Not if they let a nine-tail seal run around as a genin. Maybe Sasuke's constant vigilance was not always unwarranted.

With a sigh, she picked up the pebble and threw it at him. Naturally, he dodged.

"Bravo-" She mock clapped, "You won this round."

"You're upset," Sasuke said with uncharacteristic insight. "Did Naruto do something?"

"Nar- what- why would you think that?" She sputtered. Damn. She hadn't meant for Sasuke to pick up on her suspicions. The last thing Naruto needed was both his teammates acting awkwardly towards him! Especially since she couldn't confirm what she knew. Well, thought she knew.

"You were ignoring him today." Sasuke continued.

"Wasn't!" She protested. She had worked very hard to treat Naruto as she would any other day. And had succeeded. Mostly. Maybe. Or maybe that effort had been noticed instead.

Sasuke ignored her protest, folding his arms across his chest as he continued to glare at her. "What is going on?"

It suddenly occurred to Sakura that Sasuke was also Naruto's teammate. If what she suspected of Naruto was true, Sasuke needed to damn well know about it as well. Naruto- well, even if Naruto had complete control of the Kyuubi and wasn't a threat to anyone one- as a Jinchuriki, he suddenly had a huge target painted on his back. People killed for access to the tailed beasts- she'd overheard a whispered conversation between her parents about it. And, as Naruto's teammates, she and Sasuke would be immediate collateral damage.

"Sakura." Sasuke flicked her forehead sharply, right on the bruise from the pebble he'd thrown. "Tell me."

Damn, Sakura cursed again. First her effort and now her silence was giving her away. Maybe talking would help get her head on straight.

"There is something," She said slowly and Sasuke radiated smug superiority, "But we need to go somewhere private to speak about it."

. . . . . . .

The Uchiha compound had remained intact and untouched since the Massacre. Despite the desperate need for more and better housing for civilians and unaffiliated Shinobi, the sprawling estate had been designated a monument to the heroic ninja who had helped found Konoha.

But walking through the slowly decaying buildings, Sakura couldn't help but wonder if the compound served another purpose- a warning to the other clans. Watch your children, stay in line, or this could happen to you.

Sakura glanced at the dark figure ahead of her and tried to imagine growing up in such a place. Where once the streets had been lively and the shops had been bustling, now leaves gathered in the corners and dust on the windows. Where once the small estate rang with the sound of voices, training exercises and children, now there was only silence.

If the emptiness bothered Sasuke, it didn't show. He wove through the overgrown paths with practiced ease, dodging around sprawling camellia bushes and through bamboo thickets as a second nature.

It had once been a beautiful estate, Sakura realized. Konoha was notorious for its gardens and parks and even the fire affiliated Uchihas had seemed to embrace the idea. Nine years ago, the compound would have been magnificent. But Sasuke had been too young and then too busy to maintain such a large place on his own. Even Naruto, with his army of clones, might not have-

"Don't step there." Sasuke instructed, and Sakura gingerly passed over the innocuous clump of dried bamboo leaves. No, not so innocent, Sakura realized. The dead leaves concealed a trip wire.

Suddenly the garden transformed. It was overgrown, but all the better to hide the poison darts there. That slight turn of the dirt concealed a trap pit. Those were explosive tags hanging from that window. For nine years, the compound had become the staging ground for a genius level ninja desperate to feel safe in his house again. If anyone came here without his permission. . .

How many years had she and Ino gossiped about being invited back to Sasuke's home? They had spun stories out of barely remembered images and historical pictures- sprawling mansions, immaculate gardens, sparkling streets. An entire estate managed by invisible servants with Sasuke as its lord ad master, eager to open its doors to the right girl. They had imagined he lived in a palace

They had been wrong. He lived in a tomb.

Sakura rubbed the edge of her arms, feeling as though the air was inexplicably colder here than it had been five minutes ago on the road. No wonder Sasuke didn't relax in their village. No wonder he distrusted the normal security systems.

Sasuke either ignored or didn't seem to notice her discomfort as he approached the only house that didn't sport broken shingles or torn rice paper walls. Pausing before the front door, he flared his chakra and relaxed the warding system on the house. Still, when Sakura passed through the front door at his beckon, she felt the tingle of chakra over her skin.

Inside the house was little better than outside. The air had the quite, muffled feeling of a long abandoned room. While the hallway was meticulously clean, most of the rooms were closed off and dark. Sakura removed her shoes and, feeling a little selfconcious about her sweaty feet from her sandles followed Sasuke into the kitchen.

His kitchen, Sakura realized, then quickly amended her thought when she saw the family portrait on the wall. This was Sasuke's old kitchen. Where his family had lived. One of the faces had been scratched out and sported a buried kunai, right where the eye would have been. That must have been-

"Tea." Sasuke said, and made it sound like a threat, rather than a hospitable question. Sakura nodded and then took a seat at the large table in the middle of the room when Sasuke pointed impatiently. Unlike the rest of the house, the kitchen seemed lived in.

The warm glow from a lantern gave the place a homey feeling and Sasuke's bustling between the kettle and the cupboards seemed inappropriately domestic. Soon a cup of fragrant tea and a severely outdated tin of tea sweets were slammed in front of her.

"You didn't have to-" She muttered the usual empty phrase but Sasuke interrupted. .

"What is going on with Naturo?" He had the basics of tea making down, but hadn't mastered the small talk that usually accompanied it. Sakura debated opening one of the cookies, but a glance at the expiration date – more than ten years ago- left her with no choice but to come clean about her suspicions.

To Sasuke's credit, he remained quiet during her entire, rambling explanation of her hypothesis. Even when she finally reached the conclusion, Naruto is a Jinchuriki, he only nodded.

"That makes sense." He finally said. Sakura almost spat out her tea.

"What? No it doesn't!" Sakura protested, "We don't have proof- nothing real-"

"When you almost died on the bridge and we were fighting Zabuza, I noticed something," Sasuke interrupted her, "Naruto went berserk. His chakra output went insane- more than I had ever seen before. Also, it wasn't human chakra and it took shape around him."

"A fox," Sakura whispered. Sasuke's description had prompted a memory that she had forgotten- the bright red, angry chakra that even her limited sensing abilities picked up when she approached the bridge. In the center of that whirlwind had been Naruto. And after wards, hadn't his eyes been different?

"So Naruto's the host of the Nine tail." Sasuke confirmed and Sakura felt in equal parts dread and relief. Dread because her worst fears were true- her best friend was a danger and in danger. Relief because at least someone else knew. At least she wasn't insane. At least she hadn't been doubting her best friend for nothing.

Sakura glanced at the cup and realized that she didn't even have the space or time to feel this relief. "So what do we do?" She asked quietly

"Do?" Sasuke gave her a confused look, "We don't need to do anything. It's not our problem."

"Like Hell it's not!" Sakura cried, before she could stop herself. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her outburst, but Sakura continued. "He's our teammate!"

As Sasuke's questioning gaze didn't falter, Sakura flopped back and ran a hand through her hair. Obviously, this was their problem. Naruto was their friend, so he was their problem too. But how to make Sasuke see that? How to formulate her pre-verbal anxiety into something Sasuke understood?

"What if the Kyubbi escapes?" She finally asked. "What if-"

"You just said there was a seal."

"Seals can be broken Sasuke." Sakura snapped, "They can be rewritten. They can be overpowered. They can be altered. They're not infallible."

"Then I'll just use the sharingan." Sasuke shrugged and took a sip of his tea. Sakura blinked for a moment. Yes, it was true, Sasuke would inevitably gain the Sharingan. It was his family's heritage- unwelcome as it was to some of the villagers. Sakura wasn't sure if it came at a certain age or was unlocked through certain meditations or skills, but that didn't matter.

"Yes, but what if Naruto's seal get tampered with before you gain the Sharingan?" She asked.

"I have it." Sasuke said and picked at one of the cookies with a frown.

"You- wait. You activated it?" Sakura stared at her teammate in astonishment. "When? Where? Why didn't you tell me?"

"At the fight with Zabuza," Sasuke said irritably, opening the cookie packet. "On the bridge. The Sharingan activates when you lose someone precious to you. I thought I lost you. I thought you knew."

He glared at her and Sakura was struck dumb for a moment. The fan girl in her head having gone ingloriously into cardiac arrest at the line that sounded like it had come from one of Ino's favorite romance novels.

"Wait- why does that matter- I mean, congratulations on the Sharingan- but how was I supposed to know? No. Don't answer that. How do they help with Naruto?" She asked, leaning forward to pluck the expired cookie out of his hands before he could take a bite. The last thing she needed was to be found with the cooling corpse of the last sharingan holder trying to explain to ANBU that he died from food poisoning.

Inner Sakura wailed and gnashed her teeth at the sudden loss of a romantic mood, but outer Sakura was more curious about this previously unknown ability of the Sharingan. Romantic moods can wait. Naruto's wellbeing was at stake!

"The sharingan can summon and control a tailed beast." Sasuke glanced at her, and then looked away, clearly embarrassed, "At least, I think it can. The ancient texts mention-"

"Thinking isn't good enough," Sakura snapped, "Sasuke. The Nine tails destroyed half the village. Hundreds of ninja died! It took the Fourth Hokage sacrificing himself to even seal the beast. If the Sharingan can control it, why didn't any of the Uchiha step in to help?"

Sasuke didn't have an answer and clearly didn't like that he didn't have one. He transferred his glare to his now empty cup. "It was just a suggestion. What do you think we should do?"

Sakura tapped her fingers on the edge of her cooling teacup. What could they do? They weren't even supposed to know this information about Naruto, much less help him. But now that the cat- well fox in this case- was out of the bag, they couldn't not do anything.

"I think we need to focus on the seal." Sakura decided after a moment, "If we can understand that, we can protect Naruto. We can use the Sharingan as a backup." She added, because Sasuke was looking downright murderous.

Though clearly displeased that his suggestion of the Sharingan was not the final solution but somewhat mollified by her addition, Sasuke nodded and Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. Sasuke could have argued, could have insisted that they rely on his abilities, which would have left Sakura squarely without a role in this new endeavor.

"Ok. Sealing. Fine. What do you know about it?" Sasuke finally asked, "The Uchiha never dealt with them. I haven't found any on the compound."

"Not much," Sakura admitted, "Even the library doesn't have much. Konoha focused more on nin-jutsu and doujutsu than the sealing arts."

Sasuke's frown deepened, "Then what's the point of focusing on the seal if we-"

"I've found someone who knows about sealing," Sakura interrupted before her teammates irritation could build. "I have a lesson scheduled later this week."

Sakura wished Sasuke's grudging acknowledgement of her prescience was deserved, but Sakura honestly had had no idea that her hand waving attempt to improve herself would become so important. That was, of course, if anything Tenten had agreed to teach her could be applied to Naruto.

"Who did you find?" Sasuke asked, leaning forward with real interest and Sakura couldn't help but wilt a little.

"Do you remember Tenten from the year above us?" She asked. Sasuke's expression didn't shift, but it didn't need to. Sakura could feel the disdain from across the table and rushed to defend the kunoichi. "She makes her own sealing scrolls. From scratch. She learned how to do it at the Academy without any teachers."

"And you think sealing scrolls are like sealing Jinchuriki?" Sasuke asked. Sakura reddened further under his disbelief, before realizing that Sasuke was asking a genuine question. In this instance, all of Sasuke's clan background couldn't help him. They were on the same footing.

"It's a start." She admitted. "She knows more than we do and can at least point us in the right direction. But she's only willing to teach in exchanged for learning a new jutsu."

Maybe Sasuke wouldn't want to share anything, Sakura thought. Maybe she'd be the only one with the sealing knowledge. Would that be enough of an edge to keep her on the team? But Sasuke only nodded in approval.

"I'll find something," He promised, "Do you think Naruto should come?"

"No, I don't think that is a good idea," Sakura said slowly and filled Sasuke in on her experience of asking Team Gai to let Naruto train with them. Even if Neji and the rest didn't know about the Jinchuriki status of her teammate, they were still biased against him. And learning to seal or manipulate the seal was a lot more dangerous than just training a genin in taijutsu. What if he learned enough to unseal himself? Sakura could almost understand the paranoia.

Finally, Sasuke agreed to the date and the discretion. Sakura stretched out her back, feeling the pops and crackles from a spine kept too long in one position and then flopped back on the tatami mat. For the first time in three days she felt at peace. She had an ally, they had a plan, this whole thing was going to be solved.

Now, if only every other problem was solved as easily. At the thought of her house, a jolt of nervous energy ran through her system. The last thing she wanted to do right now was go home and face her mother, or the boxes, or the decisions about which parts of her childhood she was going to keep.

"Hey Sasuke- do you mind training with me for a bit?" Sakura asked, sitting up, "I need help with my taijutsu practice." There, an hour- maybe two at most- and she'd be too tired to care about anything when she went home.

It was almost funny how quickly Sasuke agreed. It was less funny how quickly Sakura regretted him accepting.

. . . . . .

Sakura was limping badly from a pulled hamstring by the time she left the Uchiha compound. It was only after multiple assurances that she was fine, yes really she was, she was literally walking four blocks, and no Sasuke couldn't come with her, that she had been allowed to leave the estate. Even then Sasuke had sent her off with a pack of specially prepared herbal plasters and a packet of medicine that he promised would help restore her energy for the next day.

Half way home Sakura realized that dusk had fallen, the night lamps were on and she had completely blown her mother off from their plans to clean out the attic. Maybe her plan to train herself into exhaustion worked too well: she didn't much care about the inevitable fallout from this mistake.

Serves her right, a bitter part of her muttered, forcing us to sort through out things. If she's so desperate to leave, she has to do the work herself.

Her house- well, not hers for long- was dark as Sakura slowly made her way down the street. Rather than risk waking her parents, Sakura let herself into her room through her window. Her room was as it always was, but no longer had the comforting and safe feel she had come to expect of home. In the middle of the floor was a basket of old clothes with a note pinned on top.

 _ **Since you were too busy to help this evening, I hope it's not too much trouble to sort through these and let me know what you want us to keep and what we can get rid of. You can leave a note.**_

 _ **Mebuki**_

 _ **P.S. This came for you this evening**_

A letter was tucked underneath the note and Sakura held it at an angle to catch the glow of the street light. The handwriting wasn't familiar, but quite elegant. There was a feminine delicacy to the lettering without being fussy. Sakura stared at it for a moment in an exhausted stupor.

Had her future self resorted to sending more direct notes? Was Sakura not supposed to have learned about Naruto like this? Or was she not doing enough to help Hinata?

Sakura slowly unfolded the paper but didn't see any sign of the flower.

 _Dear Sakura-chan,_

 _Your request for more Genjustu training has not left my mind these past few days and I believe I may have an idea of how I can help. Perhaps you can help me with another issue as well._

 _Would you be willing to meet me at the Lily pond on this upcoming Colt Day to discuss it further?_

 _Kurenai Yuhi_

A/N: In which things continue slowly. Thank you to everyone who follows, favs, and reveiws. You guys are absolutely the fuel that feeds my fire to write and publish.

In that note, I am considering looking for a beta for this and other stories, but am not sure what I'm looking for exactly yet. If you have beta'ed or have had a beta, would you mind dropping me a line about what you did, how it worked, and the like? Thank you!

12/18- edited to 'Fourth Hokage' from 'Fifth Hokate' per Anon's reminder.


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